a great nalanda master his holiness the 14th dalai lama!

Hi there,

Of lately the weather in Ladakh has been great and we just completed a very important teaching of his holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama at the ‘Jevetsal’ or the Peace Garden at Choglamsar on the bank of mighty Indus River that flows furiously forming its foams and roaring like a mighty lion- A popular epithet of the legendary river so to state!

This year his holiness completed the final part of the ‘ChotjuksTeachings’, that is, ‘The Conduct of a Bodhisattva’ as propounded by the great Indian Buddhist master and a saint ‘Jhiva Lha’ or ‘Shanti Deva’.

Tens of thousands of people thronged at the Jevetsal or peace garden for the three days teachings commencing on 28^th and ending on 30th of July 2022. There were sizable numbers of foreign and domestic visitors also ending the discontinuation of their visits due to covid pandemic.

One of the great attributes of his holiness teaching style is his gifted voice which attracts everyone as a magnet besides the clarity of his understanding and lucidity of his exposition.

Secondly, his simple yet very subtle way of exchanging views giving lots of references to his dialogues with western scientists and comparing it with Buddhist percepts which make him unique compared to many Tibetan Rinpoches.

Both the field of studies of Buddha dharma and Science tend to meet at the same level of expositions as one make deeper investigation for instance quantum physic’s laws like ‘Matter is energy and energy is matter’ or Mahayana Buddhist percepts of  ‘Everything that exists don’t have an independent existence’ and ‘All compounded things are dual in Nature’.

He was of the view that at present more and more western scientists agree to the view of inculcating positive and compassionate behavior both within and outside of family. They are now developing educational modules based on loving kindness, science of mental hygiene, genuine compassion and universal responsibility some of the intimate thoughts of his holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama.

His holiness has been stating over all these years that India is a genuine land of spirituality with complete sense of independence and freedom of religious toleration and practice.

He narrated a brief biography of Shanti Deva who carried a very ordinary demeanour in daily life causing his colleagues to make fun of him. Once they organized a venue for his teaching with a very high seat to cause discomfort and nervousness.

On seeing the high seat he lowered it by indicating his index finger from a distant causing furor among the audience. On completing his teaching it is said he took flight and people saw him flying away.

This astonished and embarrassed his envious colleagues. He was one among the 17 Maha Panditas or the great Indian Buddhist masters of the ancient University of Nalanda.

One insight which his holiness shared was not to follow the Buddhist teachings blindly rather to investigate it and follow it by analyzing each of the teachings until the person comprehends it clearly. Happiness comes from helping others and misery from thinking of oneself only.

Shakyamuni

The teaching was completed on the second day with his holiness reciting the leaves of ‘Chortjuks’ or ‘The Conducts of a Bodhisattva’ often elaborating on the meaning of the sentence and sharing his intimate personal practice.

Thus we Ladakhis are really fortunate to have received such teachings over the past several decades as his holiness and his Government had to flee Tibet due to the red Chinese intrusion and its final overtaking of one of the most peaceful regions of world in 1959.

We can only pray that sense will prevail and the Chinese Government will come to the resolution of Tibet issue as per the mutual acceptable understanding. His holiness presented the, ‘Middle Way Approach’ as propounded by him in the European Parliament of a meaningful autonomy within China so that the Tibetan could follow their age old Culture with genuine spiritual freedom.

On the third and the final day his holiness gave the initiation of ‘Chenrezik’ or Avaloketeshvara. The ‘Wang’ or Initiation’ is an undertaking of vow that henceforth the person would abide by the codes of the initiation and bring improvement in themselves which indirectly enhanced a humane society!

Lastly, in a very surprise announcement on Aug 5 2022 his holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama was conferred the Ladakh’s most coveted honour ‘Ladakhs sPalngyam Zingstags’ for his life long commitment of propounding the message of Buddha all over the world and here in Ladakh!

The award committee constituted under the aegis of Academy of Art and Culture (U.T) Government, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)Leh, Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) and Ladakh Gompa Association(LGA).

A Gala funation was organized at the Sindhu Ghat near the mighty River Indus where a large numbers of dignitaries were present.His holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama stated that he was indeed impressed by the way that Ladakh had developed both materially and spiritually over the years.

He re-emphasized the need for developing a warm heart and making the mind pure by practicing the Buddha dharma with deeper sense of loving kindness and compassion! Bye for now.