After the Olympics

Writing on the Washington Post's "On Faith" web site, research psychologist Dr. Paul Ekman describes his talks with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The psychologist and the monk spoke at length about emotions and compassion.

He has amazing concentration, which he maintains for hours seemingly without a moments distraction -- it was contagious, so my mind never drifted, not even for a second, which is quite unusual for me. He has keen analytic capabilities, trained as an expert debater who sees all sides of every issue, who finds the exception to every rule, and without hesitation abandons long held views when shown new information or compelling argument.

Dr. Ekman's primary expertise is in what facial expressions reveal about emotions. He says that His Holiness is "without guile; he is not only trustworthy, but also trusting almost to a fault, in the sense that a ruthless person could exploit him." Even so, Ekman concludes, His Holiness is the ideal person to to negotiate directly with China for the future of Tibet.

Last week New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof also called for top-level meetings between His Holiness and either President Hu Jintao or Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. A real solution is possible, Kristof says, but it's up to China.