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They emerged first in ones and twos, then larger groups and then finally schools of teens and young adults, thousands flowing out of the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday with smiles on their faces, some exchanging high-fives.

Mass enlightenment and total consciousness this was not; a little bit like a crowd emerging from a winning basketball game but more akin to one coming out of a good, thought-provoking movie. There was a buzz after the Dalai Lama spoke to students in an event officially titled “Educating the Heart.”

(For up-to-the-minute coverage of the Dalai Lama’s visit and coverage of his speech Saturday, hop over to the Dalai Lama Live Blog.)

“He said you don’t have to be religious to be a good person,” one college-aged man said to his friends. “I agree with that.”

Others emerged from the University of Hawaii gym with similar comments.

“His emphasis is peace. That is his ultimate achievement, and he believes that (can be accomplished) through nonviolence and reasoning and logic and education and respect and sense of community,” said Terry Brown, a 39-year-old part-time university student originally from Iowa.

“I think that he wanted to drive home the idea that we’re all humans and that we have levels where we want to find satisfaction on those levels,” she said. Brown said she’s not a Buddhist and is not looking to change that part of her life, but “I think what he’s saying about finding inner peace in all the different levels as a human. I agree we are all trying to achieve that satisfaction, so that’s what brings us together, that sense of community.”

Ian Alfaro, a 23-year-old UH psychology student said he had no expectations coming into the event but had a positive experience.

“I didn’t even know who he was before I came here. A friend of mine told me a week before. I was like, ‘Oh, who’s Dalai Lama? Who’s this random guy?'” Alfaro said. He’s been in Hawaii for five years and is originally from Texas and was raised Christian. “I’m very open. I just want to learn a lot. I’m glad I came. It’s almost identical to what Christianity teaches.

“Your mind is really separate from your physical body, and you can have a lot of physical pains but this is more important,” he said, pointing to his head. “This is where is happiness lies. I thought that was pretty cool.”

Hawaii Pacific University graduate business student Diane Mills said she heard about the event on the news and scooped up tickets just hours before it started — on Craigslist.

“I’m familiar with parts of what the Dalai Lama teaches, and I’m very interested in Eastern thought, so I like hearing it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak,” Mills said. “I was very impressed with how he handles himself, and how the crowd was so quiet, and he just has this aura about him.”

She picked up on the same point that Alfaro did: “I liked that he said that you can overcome physical disturbances with mental thoughts, but that you can’t overcome mental disturbances with anything physical.”

Punahou School senior Ka’aha McAfee-Torco said he found out about the event through English class. Students can earn extra credit for attending and writing about the talk.

“It was neat to see him talk … and some of it’s really just common sense,” McAfee-Torco said. “Like having peace with yourself and not really having more material things. If you can have peace with yourself, you can have peace with anyone. And the fact that people can disappear, but you yourself can always remain secure and grounded.”

Julie Jezequel, a 24-year-old French student who’s working with the Hawaii Institute for Human Rights on indigenous peoples issues, spoke with Civil Beat on her way into the event and said she was what the Dalai Lama would bring in terms of atmosphere and energy.

Asked on her way out if the event met expectations, Jezequel said, “It was different. It was more like an accessible human being. Of course it was an experience, but he’s really accessible. I think what he says has more weight because he is like this. … He just brings a sense of humanity.”

Not everyone was there strictly for the spiritualism.

John Moon said his wife purchased tickets for his family to attend, but she couldn’t make it to Saturday’s talk. With two young children in tow, he said the highlight of the event was the opening entertainment — Anuhea, were the big names. Moon said it was the only segment his children would sit still for.

And Larry Lee, 57 of Mililani, was there not for enlightenment but for work. He said he served more than 400 scoops of ice cream inside the Sheriff Center, but managed to pop his head into the room every now and again to hear what the Dalai Lama had to say.

“It was a great experience, just emotionally, spiritually,” Lee said. “I’m not even Buddhist, but it was exceptional. There’s actually 10,000 people from all different walks of life here, and I felt the best 10,000 people in the world are here to experience this here because you’re never going to get this again. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

The Dalai Lama is scheduled to give a talk to the general community on Sunday at the Stan Sheriff Center. Tickets are sold out but the event is expected to be live streamed. You’ll be able to find a link on Civil Beat’s web site or go to the .