incessant rain to wish His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his 75th birthday

By Vijyender Sharma
Dharmshala, 06 July 7, 2010----For someone who believes that every day is an equal opportunity to serve humanity, celebrating birthdays would be of little special concern to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. But amongst his followers and well wishers, excitement on this auspicious occasion was unmistakable.

The mood at main temple this morning was one of joyous celebrations. A motley crowd of Tibetans, local Indians and foreigners packed the main temple courtyard, braving the incessant rain to wish His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his 75th birthday.

The celebrations began in the early hours of the day with a special prayer session for the long-life of His Holiness followed by an elaborate incense burning ceremony at Lhagyal-ri. Inside the residential gates, family members and top officials of the Central Tibetan Administration met His Holiness to wish him on the special day.

At 9 a.m. local time, answering the prayers of the thousands gathered to seek his blessings, His Holiness the Dalai Lama made a rare birthday public appearance. The crowd broke into a rapturous applause as His Holiness flanked by Gyalwa Karamapa and officials of the Central Tibetan Administration walked into the courtyard.

The official function began with the simultaneous rendition of the Tibetan national anthem by the artists of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) and raising of the Tibetan national flag by Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche.

Led by the Kalon Tripa, a ceremonial religious obeisance was offered to His Holiness by the representatives of the three pillars of Tibetan democracy.

As customary to the July 6 official functions, His Holiness honoured two Tibetan civil servants Mr Kelsang Gyaltsen, envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Mr Wangdu Tsering from the Department of Finance, CTA, with the distinguished award for their 25 years of dedicated service. Tibetan civil servants, Mrs Tsewang Dolma Shosur and Mr Guru Nyima from the Department of Home, CTA were honoured by His Holiness with the distinguished award for outstanding accomplishments in their respective fields of work.

Expressing the love and gratitude of the local Indian population for His Holiness, the Lion’s club of Dharamshala and Amar Ujala Publications Ltd., which runs a popular Hindi newspaper, presented His Holiness with birthday cards written by local Indian students and residents.
The presentations were followed by commemorative releases of a number of books by the Kalon Tripa, including ‘The introductory book on Buddhism’ published by the Namgyal Monastery and the English version of ‘The great Uprisings of 2008’ published by the Dhomey Alliance for Freedom and Justice.

Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche then delivered the official statement of the Kashag and began with prayers for a long life of His Holiness on behalf of Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. Stating that Tibetans can never repay the ‘debts of gratitude to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’ for his benign leadership, Kalon Tripa said, “However, with a strong sense of the realisation of all that he has done for us, we would like to re-pledge ourselves today that we shall put into real practice the many valuable advice that he has given to us.”

Lauding the contributions of His Holiness in promoting human values and inter-religious harmony, Kalon Tripa said that His Holiness ‘while developing a great sense of empathy and compassion for all sentient beings, has provided enormous service to humanity by catering to the needs of people with different mental dispositions. ‘

Kalon Tripa also thanked the central and state governments of India and her people for their ‘assistance and co-operation’ and specifically urged ‘those overseeing the security of His Holiness’ to ‘intensify their assistance’.

Dismissing the accusations and slandering against His Holiness by ‘a few leaders of the People’s Republic of China’ as baseless, Kalon Tripa stated that such behaviours have ‘become a source for the people of the world to view the autocratic Chinese leaders as the ones who are unable to accept the truth and who rely only on lies and violence rather than seeking truth from facts.’

Following the Kashag’s statement, Speaker Penpa Tsering delivered the statement of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile.

His Holiness then addressed the function and thanked his well-wishers and supporters all over the world for their unconditional love and support. His Holiness specially thanked the oppressed millions inside Tibet for their prayers and steadfast support.

“Although you cannot utter it from your mouths but I know that in your hearts you pray for me. I thank you for your prayers and unwavering faith,” said His Holiness.
Looking at a large banner depicting a collage of his own photos through the ages, His Holiness in a lighter vein remarked that ‘his life perhaps was not a waste after all’.

“I am proud of being a Buddhist monk and in my 75 years of existence, I have studied and practiced the teachings of Lord Buddha and the great masters of Nalanda”, said His Holiness. “Their teachings, translated into Tibetan in its pristine form, have helped me realise a deep conviction to serve the humanity at large till the very end”.

His Holiness’ speech was followed by cultural performances which began with the singing of a new song by TIPA, specially dedicated to His Holiness on his 75th birthday. A long and colourful list of dance and song routine followed, including Hindi, Nepali, Punjabi, Rajasthani and Tibetan songs and dances performed by Indian and Tibetans school students and artistes.

His Holiness, after presiding over a part of the performances, paid a brief visit to an exhibition of the traditional Tibetan art of making appliqué and embroidery thangka at the Namgyal Monastery before heading back to his residence.

The songs and dances continued into the afternoon with the Dharamshala Tibetan Shop’s Association serving community lunch to all.

An impressive contingent of foreign dignitaries, guests and well-wishers were present at the function including a large group of Chinese expatriates from Australia who had especially travelled to Dharamshala to attend the ceremonies.

“He has touched the hearts of millions around the world with his simple message of happiness and brought the world closer together” said a student from Ireland. “It is an absolute honour to be blessed by his presence and may he celebrate many many more birthdays”.
On this auspicious occasion of the seventy-fifth birthday celebration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people, the Kashag, on behalf of the Tibetans inside and outside Tibet, as well as all of his disciples and well-wishers across the globe, makes obeisance to him and prays that he may live for hundreds of years.

Since his childhood until now, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, while developing a great sense of empathy and compassion for all sentient beings, has provided enormous service to humanity by catering to the needs of people with different mental dispositions while, at the same time, contributing to the maintenance and promotion of the entire teachings of the Buddha Sakyamuni, known in the Buddhist world as the "Fourth Guide". Particularly in this post-modern era, His Holiness has provided inspirational guidance to the believers (in all religions of the world) and non-believers alike. Transcending the bounds of religion, His Holiness has also given unprecedented and timely advice of what he calls "secular ethics", emphasising on the need to develop universal responsibility through the promotion of basic human values and inter-religious harmony and co-existence for the common good of the world we live in. Moreover, for resolving the issue of Tibet, His Holiness has come out with the mutually-beneficial Middle-Way policy and non-violent means to realise it. His Holiness has further transformed the nature of the exile Tibetan polity into a genuine democracy. There is no way we can repay our debts of gratitude to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. However, with a strong sense of the realisation of all that he has done for us, we would like to re-pledge ourselves today that we shall put into real practice the many valuable advice that he has given to us.

That nothing untoward has happened to the person of His Holiness the Dalai Lama thus far is mainly due to his altruistic feelings and karmic merits, the protection given by the guardian deities of Tibet, the collective merit of the Tibetan people, and particularly due to the assistance and co-operation extended by the central and state governments of India and its great people. While expressing our heart-felt thanks to all of them, and especially to those overseeing the security of His Holiness, we would like to urge them to further intensify their assistance and co-operation in this respect.

With great compassion, His Holiness labours day in and day out for the benefit of all humanity. Inspired by this verse of Shantideva, the great Bodhisattva: "Like the earth and the other great elements [of nature] as well as the sky [above]//May [I] also remain eternally to serve as one who solves the infinite sentient beings' myriad problems," His Holiness immerses himself in their service. We have nothing but admiration for all his endeavours, but these are certainly taking a great toll on His Holiness' health. The physical wellbeing of His Holiness is very important for humanity in general, and for the short and long-term benefits of the Tibetan people in particular. Therefore, we would like to implore him to kindly see to it that his daily programmes do not come in the way of his good health.

A few leaders of the People's Republic of China, who are blind to choosing between right and wrong and who lack foresight due to their preoccupation with short-term personal and political power gains, are liberally spending both human and financial resources to issue baseless accusations against and to slander His Holiness. This is because of the jealousy arising out of their inability to match His Holiness' meritorious deeds all over the world. Their actions, which resemble spitting in the air that will fall back on themselves, has become a source for the people of the world to view the autocratic Chinese leaders as the ones who are unable to accept the truth and who rely only on lies and violence rather than seeking truth from facts. This has also become a condition for the Tibetans to remain more united. However, as stated in the Indian and Tibetan treatises on worldly affairs that the power of the opposition should not be underestimated or neglected, the Kashag would like to make some important appeals to the Tibetans in and outside Tibet at this critical period.

As a result of the clear display of the united Tibetan spirit in 2008, the sympathy and support to the Tibetan cause by the people of the world, and due especially to His Holiness' achievements and great deeds, the other side is using all its political, financial and human powers to create discord among Tibetans and between Tibetans and the local communities where Tibetans live in exile. It is particularly using many deceitful means to erect obstacles on the way of Holiness' activities and deeds globally. The Kashag would like to make an emphatic appeal to the Tibetans in and outside Tibet that they should remain alert to these Chinese manipulations and always be careful in maintaining unity among ourselves and keeping good relations with the local communities.

Since the upcoming elections for the fifteenth Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and the third directly-elected Kalon Tripa are crucially important, the people at large are currently engaged in serious discussions and debates as to whom they should vote. At such a time, the people should be careful about the other side's evil designs and infiltrations. Moreover, each Tibetan must sincerely and courageously take part in the election processes by not shirking their democratic responsibilities and rights. It is very important to use one's own intelligence, rather than following what others say, in making the right choice of candidates in the ensuing elections. The Kashag would like to appeal to all the Tibetan people to give a serious thought over these.

For over fifty years, the Tibetans in and outside Tibet have been able to withstand the unbearable circumstances and emergencies with great courage and strength, and for over four generations the Tibetans have been able to maintain their religion, culture and tradition. This is solely due to the grace of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Furthermore, the fact that Tibetans have, in un-diminishing spirit, been able to continue our non-violent movement is a matter of great pride for us. Looking at the changes that are taking in the world and within the country, the issue of Tibet is heading towards finding a solution. Nevertheless, His Holiness often states that one must hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Hence if the issue of Tibet takes time to resolve, then it is important for the Tibetans in and outside Tibet to preserve their unique character of good moral conduct without losing their spirit. Good moral conduct is not only a symbol of the Tibetans but also a source for the Chinese and the people around the world to have affection for and to support our cause. Likewise, the young Tibetans must make efforts towards their general studies, and particularly towards becoming professionals well-versed in both traditional and modern education.

The mutually beneficial Middle-Way policy, which has been adopted by the overwhelming majority of the Tibetans under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, is the sole way to resolve the issue of Tibet. The Kashag is currently pursuing this policy, based on the fact that it enjoys the overwhelming majority support of the Tibetans and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile has endorsed it unanimously. We believe that all of the Tibetan people will, after having relied on their respective intelligence to ascertain the merit of this policy, support it whole-heartedly.

Finally, the Kashag prays that His Holiness may live long and all his wishes be spontaneously fulfilled. May the truth of the issue of Tibet prevail soon!

Posted by BIJENDER SHARMA on 1:57 AM. Filed under breakingnews, business, culture, education, feature, finance, gallery, technology, travel . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0