Giovanna Spantigati

He entered the room without making noise, he sat down and looked even smaller... I looked at him carefully: a common man, which you notice only by his particular dress; a man with no age. He started answering the reporters with simplicity but firm. He laughed at himself, at his English, at the questions they asked him, then he became serious again talking about the future of the world. But so humble and simple: transparent. A man without pattern of thought, whose honest and sincere eyes let you understand he is truly at peace with himself. A great man.

Some journalists were so moved that their voices trembled while asking questions. I tried not to miss a single word of what he said. He spoke of love and human values, and about the most simple and true concepts of life. Open laughter, contagious. A great love and trust in the others. His spiritual light shines through and draws people. His serenity is reassuring. The value of compassion, the responsibility towards the world in which we live ...

The Dalai Lama came to Turin and I attended the press conference. I had waited for that moment with an intense emotion and I spent with intensity every moment. I would have listened to him for hours. It's been a great lesson of life. An opportunity for me to improve. I am not so humble, and obviously not even great, but I was happy to meet him and I thought of how much we all need peace and restfulness and I wanted to share this little bit of his peacefulness, even if it's just a short moment. He is a man who has truly found peace, whose words transmit the eastern most important philosophical principle: harmony. The harmony of body, of spirit, of living together with other beings, human or not. The deepest respect towards life.


Giovanna Spantigati