WOODSTOCK, N.Y.-
The Dalai Lama took Woodstock by surprise, offering a speech on world peace to thousands who gathered on word of mouth alone.
Debbie Zimmer came to the artists’ colony in the Catskills to shop and wondered why she couldn’t find parking.
“I’m supposed to be here,” she said as she quickly changed her plans.
The spiritual leader to Buddhists worldwide squeezed in the visit Thursday between scheduled appearances in Buffalo and New York City.
On the way to the speech, the peaceful crowd funneled past a white van, not realizing it contained an X-ray machine checking for weapons.
The Dalai Lama was scheduled to offer a private teaching session Saturday to 500 Buddhists at a nearby monastery. Town Supervisor Jeremy Wilber called the last-minute public appearance a “gift to the people of Woodstock.”
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