Dalai Lama leaves for South India for two weeks of programmes/ENG

2019. december 9./Tibet Sun/TibetPress

eredeti cikk

By Lobsang Wangyal



Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama left for South India early today to go to Goa and Mundgod for a fortnight of programmes.

He will give a talk in the morning of 11 December on “The Relevance of Ancient Nalanda Teachings in our Modern Times”, organised by Goa University at the Kala Academy Auditorium in the state’s capital Panaji.

His programmes from 14 to 22 December in Mundgod include teachings and an an empowerment, along with a long-life prayer for him by several monasteries at Gaden Jangtse Monastery.

The Dalai Lama will stay first at Drepung Monastery, where he traditionally belongs. The original Drepung Monastery is situated near Lhasa, but an exile version has been built in Mundgod in Karnataka state. His predecessors’ Ganden Phodrang was at this monastery until the 5th Dalai Lama moved to the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

The highlight of the Mundgod visit will be to attend the international conference on “Je Tsongkhapa: Life, Thought and Legacy” at Gaden Lachi Monastery from 20 to 21 December. Tsongkhapa is the founder of the Geluk sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The two-day conference coincides with the 600th death anniversary of Tsongkhapa on 21 December.

Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lama’s translator, is the chief organiser of the conference. Prominent speakers at the conference include Donald S Lopez, Jeffrey Hopkins, Bataa Mishigish, Guy Newland, Jose Cabezon, and Robert AF Thurman.

After Mundgod, the Dalai Lama will travel to Bodh Gaya for teachings from 2 to 6 January 2020. Registration is required to attend the teachings in Bodh Gaya which can be done online or personally at the teaching site from 23 December. However, Tibetans and people from the Himalayan region do not need to register.

His last event before he returns to McLeod Ganj will be to participate in a two-day international conference on Buddhism organised by the International Buddhist Confederation at the Rajgir International Convention Centre.

Tibet Sun has learned that the Dalai Lama is tentatively scheduled to visit Sera Monastery in Bylakuppe, one of the three biggest Tibetan monasteries, in a few months.