Sidhbari, HP, India, 4 April 2012 (By Tendar Tsering, phayul.com) - Thousands of devotees, including new arrivals
from Tibet and foreigners, are attending a three-day teachings by His
Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Chime Gatsal Ling Monastery in Sidhbari,
near Dharamshala.
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| His Holiness the Dalai Lama greeting many of the
thousands that came to listen to his teachings Chime Gatsal Ling in
Sidhbari, HP, India, on April 4, 2012. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL |
The Dalai Lama is conferring the Kagyae Initiations at the request of H.E. Garje Khamtrul Rinpoche.
Speaking
at the beginning of the teachings, the 76-year old Tibetan spiritual
leader reiterated that his decision to devolve his political authorities
to the elected Tibetan leadership last year is for the benefit of the
Tibetan people in the long run.
“The situation prior to 300 years
is different from now,” the Dalai Lama said. “This is the 21st century
and the age of the people, the public.”
In his message to the
Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in March last year, the Dalai Lama had made
clear that his intention to devolve political authority is “solely for
the benefit of the Tibetan people in the long run.”
“No system of
governance can ensure stability and progress if it depends solely on
one person without the support and participation of the people in the
political process,” His Holiness had said. “One man rule is both
anachronistic and undesirable. We have made great efforts to strengthen
our democratic institutions to serve the long-term interests of the six
million Tibetans, not out of a wish to copy others, but because
democracy is the most representative system of governance.”
According
to the organisers, a special prayer session for the Tibetans who have
lost their lives in the ongoing wave of self-immolations and mass
protests in Tibet will also be organised along with the teachings.
Garje
Khamtrul Rinpoche Jamyang Dondrub, a highly respected teacher and
master and a former civil servant of the Tibetan exile administration
established the Chime Gatsal Ling, in 1991 in Mcleod Ganj.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama formally inaugurated and consecrated the new monastery in April 2010.
On Friday, the last day of the teachings, a long-life offering ceremony for the Dalai Lama will be held.
