Musician Moby Meets Dalai Lama And Blogs About Experience

July 18, 2008 11:13 a.m. EST

Philadelphia, PA (CNS) - Platinum-selling musician Moby had a very special audience on Thursday in Philadelphia - the Dalai Lama.

Moby wrote on his website about the experience, also explaining that he was joined by friends Serj Tankian from System of a Down, KT Tunstall and Joss Stone.

"Mainly I was struck by his intellect," he wrote of the informal meeting, which included a performance by Tunstall. "He might be the brightest person I've ever met. Second, I was struck by his sense of humor."

Moby saw a display of the Dalai Lama's sense of humor: "I asked him ... 'If you could be completely selfish for a week, what would you do?' 'Sleep,' he said. 'So you'd be a professional sleeper?' I asked. And he laughed and laughed. And boy, when the Dalai Lama laughs at one of your jokes (even if it's not such a good joke) you feel pretty good."

Moby said he was so worried the night before about his upcoming conversation with the spiritual leader, that he couldn't sleep.

"A part of me wanted to ask fun and lighthearted questions, like, 'If you were a breakdancer what would you want for your breakdancing name?' And another part of me wanted to ask more serious questions about dharma and meditation and politics and quantum mechanics ... and then it was morning."

Before the meeting even began, Moby talked about a surprise the Dalia Lama had outside of the hotel with Snoop Dogg and his crew who were leaving the hotel as the Dalai Lama arrived. "Postmodernism reared it's messy head and the Dogg Pound posed for pictures with the H.H. Dalai Lama," Moby wrote. "This, needless to say, was entertaining."

The musician summed up the experience by saying, "This was a way more interesting day than most."