"It was like I had butterflies," she told The Maui News.

Anderson said she already had plans to take off Wednesday to attend the presentation by the Dalai Lama at War Memorial Stadium, the second of two public appearances on Maui.

But she wasn't told she would be the co-pilot on the Honolulu-Maui Flight 717 carrying the Tibetan leader in exile until she showed up for work Monday.

It was only coincidence, of a sort, that she also has been reading the Dalai Lama's "The Art of Happiness," and was carrying it in her flight bag.

Capt. Robert Fernandez was told of the assignment but didn't advise his first officer until Monday, although she already had been cleared to be part of the flight crew for the Dalai Lama who must travel with a security force appropriate for a world leader.

"That morning, I didn't have a clue. But he (Fernandez) brought his camera and I said we've got to talk to him. We've got to get a picture and I've got to ask him to sign my book," she said. "Honestly now, I truly believe in karma."

The flight otherwise was uneventful, she said.

Anderson said she began reading "The Art of Happiness" on a trip to Australia earlier this year and is still working on the book, which was the reason she was carrying it with her.

Raised in the Catholic Church, she said she was taught about other religions in classes at Kamehameha Schools, where she said her religion teacher introduced the students to the range of religions and Eastern philosophy, including Buddhism and Taoism. She grew up in Makawao, attending St. Joseph Church, but now lives in Honolulu with her husband, Jeffrey Anderson, and their 4-year-old twins, Koa and Kala'i.

In reading "The Art of Happiness," she said she finds the Dalai Lama explains his ideas in simple terms, as he does in his public presentations.

"I was interested in Buddhism," she said. "I know all religions have good points. It's how you interpret them.

"When I was in Kamehameha in the 7th grade, we had a teacher in religion and he kind of touched on all of the religions of the world.

"Then in college, I had a geography class and we read about all the different places, all the different people and all the different religions."

Learning that the Dalai Lama was coming to speak on Maui, she said she made plans to be here. Meeting him in person may have been karma, an event that had its beginnings when she was first given a flight lesson as a graduation present by her grandfather when she was 18.

"For me, it was overwhelming to meet him in person. I felt blessed," she said.