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Elders, young women, monks, and students of the Tibetan community, along with Indians, gathered in the Tibetan school, Chhota Shimla, to celebrate the 89th birthday anniversary of the 14th Dalai Lama.
The Indian Buddhist community and local residents also participated in large numbers. The traditional Tibetan folk dances and Indian cultural performances by Tibetan students fascinated all.
The additional chief secretary of the state government, Onkar Chand Sharma, participated and presided over the programme.
While speaking to ANI on Saturday, Tsewang Phuntsok, Chief Representative Officer of the Central Tibetan Administration, said that the Dalai Lama is very important to the Tibetan community. They consider him a living Buddha and a symbol of peace and kindness.
“Today, not only here in Shimla but all over the Tibetan community around the world, we are celebrating Dalai Lama’s 89th birthday. Dalai Lama is everything for the Tibetan community, and he is the living Buddha for us.
“He is the reincarnation of Avalokitshawara, and he is not only an important figure for the Tibetan community but also for the whole of the world for his vision of compassion and non-violence.
“On this auspicious occasion, we take this opportunity to pray for the long life of His Holiness On this auspicious occasion, we celebrate his birthday through cultural and religious celebrations,” he added.
The Indian Buddhists were happy to celebrate the Birthday of a Buddhist temperol leader who has been promoting peace and Buddhism across the globe.
“Today is important for all Buddhists in Himalayan religion as it is the birthday of Dalai Lama. He helped in spreading Buddhism in Tibet and later, after coming to India, he propagated peace and compassion in India and across the Globe. He helped in preserving the Buddhist and Himalayan culture in educational institutions in the Himalayan region,” said V S Negi, Himalayan Buddhist.
The Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue Department of the Himachal Pradesh government, Onkar Chand Sharma, presided over the birthday celebration programme of the 14th Dalai Lama in Shimla.
He said that it was important that his message of peace reach everyone in society.
“I wish him good health and greet him on his birthday on behalf of the government of Himachal Pradesh and the people of the state. And wish you a long life for guiding us in peace and compassion.
“It is a pride moment for Himachal Pradesh, as he lives in Dharamshala. The people across the globe from the international community come to meet him, and I would say his peace message should reach everywhere and everyone in society,” said Sharma.
The 14th Dalai Lama was born on July 6, 1935, in the small farming village of Takster, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two, the boy Lhamo Dhondup was recognised as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. In October 1939, he was brought to Lhasa and formally installed as the head of the state of Tibet on February 22, 1940.
Boy Lhamo Dhondup was later named Tenzin Gyatso, and his monastic education was started at the age of six.
Dalai Lama is a Mongolian term that means “Ocean of Wisdom”, and the Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva of compassion.
Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own enlightenment and chosen to take rebirth to serve, according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
The Dalai Lama assumed full political powers in 1950, After the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1949. In March 1959, after the suppression of the Tibetan National Uprising, the Dalai Lama was forced to escape into exile in India with over eighty thousand refugees. For over six decades, the Dalai Lama has been working for the promotion of peace, love, and compassion. (ANI)
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