Jack Johnson Performs Before Speech by Dalai Lama

Generally speaking, it's considered poor form to walk out on stage during someone else's concert, but there are exceptions to the rule -- as Jack Johnson demonstrated on Saturday (April 14) when his performance before a speech by the Dalai Lama was interrupted by none other than the guest of honor himself.

The event, held at the Stan Sheriff Center in Manoa, Hawaii, was aimed at high school and college students, who turned out in droves to hear the Lama's message -- as well as hear pre-speech music from Johnson, ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro, Hyper Squad, and Anuhea. Shimabukuro played before Johnson, debuting a new original song that he performed using only three of his instrument's four strings (as one writer put it, "something symbolic, I guess, like doing more with less").

Then Johnson took the stage to perform 'Better Together,' but he didn't make it through the song before the Lama walked out and sent the crowd into a frenzy. Doing the sensible thing, Johnson cut his performance short, yielding the spotlight to the man of the hour.

The Dalai Lama proceeded to deliver his speech, which offered a message of peace, hope, and love. "When you are passing through a difficult period and some people criticize you, don't disturb your mental sort of peace," he told the crowd. "Happiness not necessarily, just take the physical pleasure, sometimes even physical level -- some suffering, some pain -- can bring tremendous satisfaction on mental level."

Johnson is set to release his latest live album, 'Jack Johnson and Friends - Best of Kokua Festival,' tomorrow (April 17).