CEDAR FALLS - Jenny and John Adamson had always thought about taking a Lifelong University course on the University of Northern Iowa campus.

They had flipped through the course offerings, talked about registering, but never actually applied for one of the classes, which offer non-credit programs taught by retired and current UNI faculty and staff. Until this week.

For once, the stars aligned and the Adamsons found themselves partaking in one of the most popular Lifelong University courses to date: The Buddhism of the Dalai Lama. The three-week course, taught by James Robinson, an associate professor of world religions, caught the interest of more than 75 adult students. Typical classes usually accommodate about 30 students, said Stacey Christensen, the university's community relations manager.

"The only tie we could make for the added interest is because the Dalai Lama is coming in May," Christensen said. "We knew people were interested in the visit, but I was a little surprised by the interest in this class. We had planned it even before knowing when the Dalai Lama was coming."

The course, originally planned for a meeting room at University Book and Supply, had to be moved to the alumni suite in the McLeod Center when the numbers swelled past 30.

"People are really resonating around this message of peace and how to find inner peace," Christensen said.

The Adamsons said they were intrigued by the teachings of the Dalai Lama and wanted to learn more in preparation for the spring visit.

"I don't know much about Buddhism. I've always intended to read something about it, but just never had the chance," Jenny Adamson said. "This is a great learning opportunity but this topic gives us some focus. We are definitely going to try and see him when he is here, even though his belief system is not like ours, we are all spiritual seekers."

"I think we are finding that his beliefs fit into our beliefs more than we thought," John Adamson added.

During the first course Robinson told the class there were three things they needed to understand about the Dalai Lama.

"First of all he is a human being. He is concerned with spreading peace and compassion. Second, he believes he has a religious responsibility and third he is a Tibetan working for the freedom of the people of his country," Robinson said.

Robinson continued that the Dalai Lama wants his message and work to "transcend denominations and sectarial religion."

The university is planning dozens of activities, including book clubs and additional guest speakers, leading up to the Dalai Lama's visit on May 18. All information about already planned events can be found at www.uni.edu/dalailama/.