Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, December 31 (by Tendar Tsering, phayul.com) -
Thousands of devotees from around the world welcomed the Tibetan
spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Bodh Gaya, the venue for
the 32nd Kalachakra teachings earlier today.
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| His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his arrival at the Mahabodhi Stupa in Bodh Gaya on December 31, 2011. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL |
Devotees from different countries, including
pilgrims from Tibet, lined-up the narrow streets leading to the holiest
site for Buddhists the world-over, as the Dalia Lama waved at the crowd
raising slogans of ‘long live the Dalai Lama’.
Upon arrival, the Dalai Lama went straight to the
Mahabodhi Temple, the site of Lord Buddha’s enlightenment, to offer
prayers. The Mahabodhi Mahåvihåra is amongst the 84,000 shrines built by
King Asoka the Great in the 3rd century B.C.
Speaking to the press shortly after his arrival,
His Holiness called India the “land of religions” while referring to the
tolerance and acceptance showed by its people towards all major
religious traditions in the world.
Responding to a question on the issue of Tibet and
China, the 76-year old Tibetan leader said “truth is always more
powerful” while affirming that truth is on the side of the Tibetans.
An Italian devotee who was amongst the thousands gathered to receive
the ten-day teachings told Phayul that she was “pleasantly surprised”
by the “unimaginable faith” that Tibetans from round the globe have in
their leader the Dalai Lama.
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| His Holiness the Dalai Lama
speaking to members of the media during his visit to the Mahabodhi Stupa
in Bodh Gaya on December 31, 2011. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL |
“I
am pleasantly surprised to see the total devotion of the people for the
Dalai Lama. It’s amazing that people who haven’t met or even seen the
Dalai Lama have such unimaginable faith in him,” said Genziana.
His Holiness is scheduled to begin his ten-day Kalachakra teachings
from tomorrow. Live webcast of the Kalachakra initiations can be viewed
in Tibetan, English, Russian, and Chinese languages at dalailama.com.
The upcoming Kalachakra initiation will be the 32nd occasion since His
Holiness the Dalai Lama conferred the teachings for the first time in
May 1954 at Norbulingka, Lhasa, Tibet. After a nine-year gap, the
Kalachakra initiation in Bodh Gaya has drawn tens of thousands of
devotees from all over the world including a large number of Tibetans
from Tibet.
