How did the Dalai Lama prepare his mind for the task this past weekend of “guest-editing” the Toronto Star‘s Sunday edition? Let’s turn, for clues, to His Holiness’s Twitter feed—specifically, these two tweets in the days before his weekend editing job:
By studying others’ viewpoints, it is possible for us to discover new and refreshing perspectives on the world – including our own life.
And:
Compassion belongs to every sphere of activity, including, of course, the workplace.
On the job, the Dalai Lama selected the layout for the Star‘s front page (watch the action below) and co-bylined an op-ed (in the Star‘s telling, “The Dalai Lama then read closely, with the help of a translator, an editorial on displaced people written by Star publisher John Cruickshank. He gave it his approval and agreed to add his byline to the piece.”) He also did a brief online Q&A with Star readers, during which he was asked if he “were to ask mankind one question, a question that you would like mankind to answer, what would that question be?” Replied the Dalai Lama:
You do not want problems, but many problems are your creation. Why?
The Dalai Lama’s next “guest” journalism gig should clearly involve the asking of questions. (I’m thinking, politics desk?)
h/t, Gawker
Liz Cox Barrett is a writer at CJR.