Living Buddha who returned home
A Living Buddha who stayed overseas for more than half a century, Koondhor Jewon Tulku, has taken a long path to take part in the sacred Buddhist ritual hosted by the 11th Panchen Lama between Thursday and Sunday.
Jewon, who left Tibet in 1959 and returned in 2011, was among the 5,000 monks and nuns attending the first Kalachakra instruction delivered by Panchen Lama Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu.
The ritual attracted over 110,000 devotees on Saturday to listen to the Kalachakra instructions in a venue near Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the Panchen Lama’s traditional seat, in Xigaze of Tibet autonomous region.
Jewon, who was reincarnated as a Living Buddha in the Qamdo prefecture of Tibet in the 1950s, according to Buddhist belief, he is impressed by the Buddhist attainments of the Panchen Lama at the young age of 26.
“I hope he will go on to become a knowledgeable and great religious leader,” he said.
Jewon left Tibet for India in 1959, before settling down in Switzerland in the 1970s.
Jewon said it was the local authorities’ persistent investment in Buddhist temples, and policies that respect religious freedom, that made him decide to come back in 2011.
“I saw temples are being refurbished, and connected with roads, electricity and tap water. The authorities have also included the monks and nuns in social insurance programs. That was simply unimaginable in the old times,” he said.