Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, 2 January 2012 (byTendar
Tsering, phayul.com) - Amidst a light rainfall, Tibetan spiritual leader
His Holiness the Dalai Lama began his ten-day Kalachakra teachings
yesterday in Bodh Gaya.
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His Holiness the Dalai Lama greets
some of the thousands who have come to attend the Kalachakra teachings
on January 1, 2012. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
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Thousands of pilgrims from Tibet, the Himalayan
regions, Bhutan, Korea, China, and from the west sat under tents
covering the large grounds to listen to the Dalai Lama.
The 76-year old Tibetan leader began by thanking
the large gathering for making the journey to receive his teachings with
a special mention of the huge number of Tibetans from Tibet.
“This place is a very holy place as the Buddha was
enlightened here and those of you Tibetans who have come from Tibet
despite lots of hardships, you all are among my special devotees for
this Kalachakra,” the Dalai Lama said.
Asking all the Chinese pilgrims to raise their
hands, the Tibetan spiritual leader acknowledged their attendance while
urging all his devotees to practice his teachings based on reasons and
not on “blind faith”.
“Lots of Chinese from different countries have come
including from Singapore and Thailand, and even from mainland China.
Unfortunately nowadays, some conservative Chinese leaders consider
Buddhism as sort of anti-China,” the Dalai Lama said.
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| His Holiness the Dalai Lama during
the first day of the 10 day Kalachakra teachings in Bodh Gaya, India, on
January 1, 2012. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL |
Wishing his disciples from the US and Europe a
‘Happy New Year’, the Dalai Lama began his Kalachakra teachings for a
record 32nd time since he first gave the initiations in May 1954 in
Lhasa, Tibet.
Though an official figure is yet to be announced, observers believe the teachings have drawn the largest crowd ever of Tibetans.
The light rainfall which started earlier in the
morning and ended along with the Dalai Lama’s teaching for the day has
caused inconveniences to all the pilgrims, especially those staying in
rented tents.
But there were little complaints from the large
crowd, as Tibetans believe a rainfall at the beginning of a religious
teaching is auspicious and considered a blessing
