Global leaders greet Dalai Lama on his 85th birthday
DHARAMSHALA:
The Dalai Lama on Monday turned 85, with Indian and global leaders extending birthday wishes to the spiritual leader.
This year, the celebrations remained a low-key affair due to restrictions imposed by the government in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Dalai Lama’s private secretary Sachin Seton Samadup said no function was organised to celebrate the occasion. Samadup said he neither made any foreign visit nor gave any sermon since January due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
Prayers marked the occasion at the community’s main temple in McLeodganj.
The Tibetan spiritual leader too said it was not possible to hold a large celebration due to the pandemic.
“And it’s not necessary either,” he said, asking his followers to recite the “om mani padme hum” mantra at least a thousand times. The mantra encapsulates Buddhist teachings and indicates that we can all transform ourselves to be more like Buddha.
The spiritual leader received birthday greetings through the internet or social media from across the world, including former US president George
BJP LEADER RAM MADHAV WISHES SPIRITUAL LEADER, CALLS HIM GREAT GURU
Bush.
“Laura (former first lady) and I send our very best wishes on your 85th birthday. I admire you, I care for you and I love you,” Bush said. Indian Union minister Kiren Rijiju too wished him on his birthday.
BJP leader Ram Madhav wishing the Tibetan spiritual leader said he is ‘a great guru and master for mankind’.
Himachal governor Bandaru Dattatraya said the spiritual leader is a symbol of peace, love and compassion. Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said t the Dalai
Lama has devoted his life towards humanitarian and environmental causes.
TIBETAN GOVT-IN-EXILE FLAYS CHINA
In a statement, the Central Tibetan Administration, also known as the Tibetan government-in-exile, said the People’s Liberation Army of the communist-ruled China continued to make “attempts to encroach into India from all across its border areas”.
“And recently, a dispute in Galwan Valley in Ladakh led to a clash between the troops from the two sides with the result that 20 Indian soldiers died and several others were injured. The Tibetan parliament-in-exile wishes to express our condolences to India,” the statement said.