Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India - Today, under a clear blue sky, and while the early morning temperature was still mild, His Holiness the Dalai Lama rode in an electric golfcart from his residence to the Tsuglagkhang, the Main Tibetan Temple. There he joined an estimated 4000 people, monks, nuns, laymen and women in reciting the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the Compassionate One, following a ritual known in Tibetan as Mani Dhungdrup. The congregation have been collecting ‘mani’ mantras for the last five days, since the first day of Saga Dawa, the month that commemorates the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha. His Holiness took his seat facing the statue of the Buddha and that of Chenrezig Wati Sangpo. To his right sat the Abbot of Namgyal Monastery, Thamtog Rinpoché.
His Holiness presided over a ritual that followed the ‘Manual for Preparing Mani Pills’ compiled by Serkhong Tsenshab Rinpoché. It began with taking refuge in the Three Jewels, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, generating the awakening mind and the four immeasurable wishes. The names of those who had sponsored the ceremony were announced. The ritual then continued with an offering to the visualized deities of an ablution, prayers to the lamas of the lineage, and the participants’ self-generation as Avalokiteshvara.
After a long series precious objects had been offered in order that the desired aim be accomplished, prayers were addressed to Avalokiteshvara. A thread extended from the heart of the presiding master, His Holiness, to the collection of ‘mani’ pills arranged in a mandala pavilion before the Wati Sangpo statue enabled the flow of blessings. At this point the entire congregation joined together in reciting Om mani padmé hung. The recitation concluded with the 100-syllable mantra, the Prayer for His Holiness’s Long Life by His Two Tutors, the Prayer of the Words of Truth, the single verse prayer for His Holiness’s long life and the prayer for the flourishing of the awakening mind:
May the precious, supreme awakening mind
Arise in those in whom it has not yet arisen;
And where it has arisen may it not decrease
But ever increase more and more.
Before leaving the temple, His Holiness stepped up to bless the ‘mani’ pills, salute the Wati Sangpo statue and the image of the Buddha. As he walked towards the lift and rode in the golfcart through the courtyard to his residence he spotted familiar faces in the crowd, smiled broadly and waved to them.
