Having a spiritual icon like the Dalai Lama shine a spotlight on a new community peace-building event is like having a rock star in the islands, said Kelvin Taketa, president and CEO of the Hawaii Community Foundation.

"For all of us at the foundation, it’s an extraordinary honor for us to fashion and launch the Pillars of Peace, and to have His Holiness for the inaugural event," Taketa said. "We’re really excited — It’s like the Beatles are coming to town! We think it will be a remarkable thing for the people of Hawaii."

The HCF was close to selling out the 18,000 tickets to two appearances April 14 and 15 by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Since his exile to India in 1959, the man who describes himself as simple Buddhist monk has worked for the liberation of his country from Chinese oppression, and has become a universal symbol of peace, compassion and religious harmony, according to his website, www.dalai­lama.com.

During his visit, he will also meet privately with Native Hawaiian community leaders and others and visit cultural sites, but his itinerary will not be made public for security reasons, Taketa said.

The Dalai Lama is appearing at the personal invitation of global philanthropists Pierre and Pam Omidyar. They established the $50 million Omidyar Ohana Fund in 2009 to launch initiatives such as the upcoming talks on "Pillars of Peace Hawaii: Building Peace on a Foundation of Aloha."

The initiative aims to bring global peace leaders to Hawaii to exchange ideas about the roles of compassion, diversity and culture in the practice of peace-building.

Taketa said these meetings will "showcase our community, which has so many different cultures and traditions, and our tolerance and mutual respect for each other in a world where you don’t see much of that. Hawaii can serve as a reference point for these leaders as they go through the world to talk about peace."

Taketa called the "sense of aloha instilled by our host culture" a precious resource that residents must not take for granted. They have to work to preserve Hawaii’s culture in a world troubled by escalating racial and religious tensions, he added.

The Omidyars have worked with the Dalai Lama and several other leaders on other global peace initiatives, including Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and former President Jimmy Carter, Taketa said.

Both of the Dalai Lama’s public events will take place at the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. The first is on April 14 at 1:30 p.m., titled "Educating the Heart," and for students only. The second event, for the general public, is April 15 at 1:45 p.m. and is called "Advancing Peace through the Power of Aloha."

Taketa said heightened security measures require identification, and that no bags, purses, cellphones or cameras will be allowed into the auditorium; no storage of items will be provided. Doors will open at 11 a.m. and people are urged to arrive early because of security and traffic delays.

Grammy Award-winning musicians Jack Johnson and Michael McDonald, and other Hawaii entertainers, will perform before the talks start. Johnson and Jake Shimabukuro (by video) are scheduled for the student event; and McDonald, Amy Hanaiali‘i, Henry Kapono and Jerry Santos for the public talk.

According to an HCF release, the Dalai Lama has authored more than 72 books, and has received innumerable awards and honorary doctorates, including the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his "many enduring and outstanding contributions to peace, nonviolence, human rights and religious understanding." He won the 2012 Templeton Prize for his work in spiritually relevant scientific research.