As many of you know, a story has been floating around recently that Obama had a kata hidden away in his pocket during the inauguration, a kata, no less, blessed by the Dalai Lama himself. It was purportedly given to him by Senator Feinstein whose husband, Richard Blum, had acquired it from His Holiness. When asked if Obama would like to have it after the inauguration, Obama reportedly indicated that he would prefer to have it on him during the ceremony. If you read some of the comments to the article referenced above, you'll see that Blume and his business deals aren't held in the highest regard by some readers. A very interesting revelation, not of Blum, whose business practices may or may not be reputable (I simply don't know), but of the fundamental misunderstanding of the gift. Unless Obama plans on auctioning the kata on eBay and pocketing the profits, his acceptance of the gift and the spirit that lay behind the blessing of it are the essential actions that we need to focus on. If, in fact, the kata was offered, and if in fact Obama accepted it (and this story hasn't been confirmed, and I can't imagine that such a story would ever be confirmed by the White House), we can assume that our new President accepted the gift in the spirit in which it was originally offered--as a gift signifying the compassion that knows no racial, national, or political boundaries.
That has to bode well for us, right?
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