SAN JOSE — There was an unusual amount of good karma this week in San Jose.
Refugee workers, volunteer nurses, human rights activists, cancer counselors, homeless advocates, hospice helpers, Catholic nuns and an assortment of other selfless beings sat down for lunch at the Fairmont Hotel.
Oh, yeah. The Dalai Lama was there, too.
The occasion was a benefit lunch to honor 50 "unsung heroes of compassion," and it was a saintly start for the Dalai Lama's five-day visit to the Bay Area.
"I, myself, as a tiny follower of Buddha, practice compassion," the exiled Tibetan leader told his audience. "But when I see these people, my talk of compassion is just lip service. They are my gurus."
They are people such as San Franciscan Gerald Gray, who quit a successful business career to help survivors of torture; the Rev. Ken Chambers, who matches high-risk youths in West Oakland with mentors and job training; and Marilyn Lacey, a Sister of Mercy nun who helps refugees through Catholic Charities of San Jose.
But, of course, the real star of the show was the Dalai Lama, who charmed the South Bay crowd with his infectious giggles, self-deprecating humor and spiritual authenticity.
After some Tibetan children in traditional costumes sang for him, someone in the crowd asked the world's most famous Buddhist if he had any advice for those raising children.
"I'm no expert," the red-robed monk replied. "I can be kind to them for short periods only. I know how to tease them and make them laugh."
Later, at an evening appearance in the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, a more tired and subdued Dalai Lama shared the stage with San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and singer Joan Baez. More than 3,000 filled the hall in a sold-out benefit for the American Himalayan Foundation.
"His Holiness," as his devotees call him, talks in a mixture of English and Tibetan in a voice that is deep and sing-songy at the same time.
In his San Jose talk, the Dalai Lama sat on a padded chair on the stage of the Fairmont's Imperial Ballroom, before a backdrop of colorful Tibetan tapestries depicting wild Buddhist deities flying around on lotus blossoms. Someone asked him if he had any advice for people who are often sad. He suggested they try looking at their lives from a different perspective.
"We lost our country," he said. "There is sadness there. Looked at only from that aspect, sadness increases. But we can look at it from other angles. It opened us to the world and brought us new opportunities."
Asked about China's occupation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama said he was "not seeking separation or independence, but genuine self-rule."
"Tibet, materially, is very, very backward," he said. "Spiritually, it is quite rich. But spirituality can't fill our stomachs."
Much of the Dalai Lama's magic comes from his spontaneity.
"True compassion is not based on any expectation of a reward," he said, then paused.
"Hmmm," he said, giggling. "What else should I say?"
Among those introducing the Dalai Lama to the luncheon audience were actress Sharon Stone, meditation teacher Jack Kornfield and Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman, the father of actress Uma Thurman.
Stone, who is married to Chronicle Executive Editor Phil Bronstein, said she was tempted to introduce the Dalai Lama as "the hardest working man in spirituality," but left those honors to Thurman.
Thurman said the Dalai Lama was "more popular in this country than any politician, bar none."
"The Dalai Lama does not believe his own press releases," Thurman said. "That's one of the reasons for his freshness."
Thursday, the Dalai Lama takes the stage at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View for three days of teaching on the Heart Sutra, one of the central texts of Buddhism.
That's big news at Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in San Francisco.
Lobsang Chokyi, the director of the center, will be among a bus full of Buddhists heading down to hear "His Holiness."
"It's not so much what he says, but the way he embodies his teachings," said Chokyi, an ordained Tibetan Buddhist nun. "He embodies compassion and tolerance in a way we don't see in many public figures today. "
Chokyi, 42, was ordained last year at the Vajrapani Institute, a Tibetan Buddhist center in the Santa Cruz mountains. Earlier in this lifetime, she was the Lutheran formerly known as Catherine Lambert.
She is one of thousands of Northern Californians who have embraced Buddhist teachings and meditation practices and go out of their way to be in the presence of the Dalai Lama.
Forced into exile in India in 1959, when he was 25, Tenzin Gyatso was the 14th Dalai Lama. He won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. Since then, he has become a spiritual superstar and living symbol of the Tibetan people's struggle for cultural and religious survival.
His Bay Area visit concludes with a public talk Saturday evening and a "Medicine Buddha Empowerment" workshop Sunday morning, both at Shoreline Amphitheatre.
For more information, go to www.medicinebuddha.org.
Wednesday's tribute to the "Unsung Heroes of Compassion" was sponsored by Wisdom in Action, a nonprofit group dedicated to cultivating awareness and social action.