Press Release | Office of the Mayor | Mayor Wild Serves as Honorary Guard and Escort for Dalia Lama

For Immediate Release | Official Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

36601 Ford Road | Westland, Michigan | 48185

Office 734.467.3200 | Fax 724.721.2310

WWW.CITYOFWESTLAND.COM

Mayor Wild Serves as Honorary Guard and Escort for Dalia Lama

Westland, MI - Mayor William R. Wild had the unique opportunity to meet and serve as an honorary guard and escort for His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, during the recent "Encouraging Compassion" event in Louisville, Kentucky this past weekend.

The three-day even began on Friday, May 17th and closed with the Dalai Lama speaking to tens of thousands of people from across the world, about engaging with compassion from within in order to build world peace. The Dalai Lama is one of the world's foremost advocates for non-violence and has been the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Congressional Medal of Honor for his work to find non-violent, peaceful and compassionate resolution to human conflict.

"The Dalai Lama's message wasn't just intended for world leaders. In fact, he made it quite clear that helping others and unleashing the human potential for compassion starts at the local level. That the leadership of our nation's Mayor's is vital when it comes to the goal of creating compassionate cities," said Mayor Wild.

According to Buddhist belief, the Dalai Lamas are earthly incarnations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the bodhisattva of compassion and patron saint of Tibet. In Buddhist tradition, bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who chose rebirth, rather than moving on to the afterlife, in order to serve humanity. As such, the Dalai Lama is considered the spiritual leader of Tibet and one of Buddhism's most important leaders anywhere.

"I want to thank Mayor Greg Fischer and the City of Louisville for inviting me to participate in this successful event and for recently being honored as "World's No. 1 City of Compassion," said Mayor Wild.

The event concluded with a private reception hosted by Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie.

Mayor Wild covered the cost of this trip personally including his flight, lodging and meals.

Mayor Wild with the Dalia Lama & others

Mayor Wild & Muhammad Ali

For more information, contact Shannon Ackron, Administrative Secretary, at (734) 467-3200.

The City of Westland is the 10th largest city in Michigan with a population of over 84,000. The city's residential development is an excellent blend of single family homes, apartments and condominiums. The broad selection of housing opportunities is complimented by over 1500 acres of well-maintained parks and nature trails as well as a highly rated municipal golf course. Also available is a skate park, ice arena, a state-of-the-art Library and novel city park themes that are fun and family-friendly.

Westland has the location, land, infrastructure, and leadership, under Mayor William R. Wild to attract new industry and help existing businesses redevelop properties and to maintain competitiveness in today's global economy. Six modern platted industrial parks on 320 acres are served by class "A" internal roads, with up to date utilities and rail access available within two of the parks. Westland is conveniently located within the center of southeastern Michigan's expressway system, minutes north of Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and ideally located between downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Westland is the area's premier "Shopping and Dining Destination". Westland Shopping center, one of the country's original four regional malls, boasts 80 retail stores and has anchored Westland's commercial district for more than 30 years. Westland's diversity and progressive planning offers residents a wide variety of life experiences, and make Westland truly the "All American City".