Power of truth will prevail over power of gun in the long run: Dalai Lama tells China
DHARAMSALA, 26 Dec: His Holiness the Dalai Lama has served a gentle reminder to the Chinese communist regime that the power of truth will outlast the power of the gun.
“We have the power of truth. Chinese communists have the power of the gun. In the long run, power of truth is much stronger than the power of the gun,” the Dalai Lama said on Christmas when enquired about his message to the Chinese government as he briefly interacted with the media at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya.
The Tibetan spiritual leader further stated that China, a traditionally Buddhist country presently has the largest Buddhist population in the world.
“Three years ago, Peking University conducted a survey on the Buddhist population in China. Their report concluded that there are about 300 million Buddhists; many of these Buddhists are well educated. These are the official report and the number of Chinese Buddhist population is increasing ever since,” the Tibetan Nobel Laureate added.
The Dalai Lama concluded by saying that the Chinese Buddhists consider Tibetan Buddhism as truly a Nalanda tradition, the tradition he described as very scientific religion.
the Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in Bodhgaya in the Indian state of Bihar on Tuesday after concluding his 12-day visit to Mundgod Tibetan settlement in Hubli, Karnataka.
During his stay in Mundgod over 12- 24th Dec, the Dalai Lama attended a series of events such as the inauguration of the new courtyard of Drepung Gomang Monastery and a ceremony celebrating the marking of the 6-year implementation phase of the Emory Tibetan Science Initiative on 14 Dec followed by conducting teachings and conferring a long life empowerment (tsewang) at Drepung Loseling Monastery on 16 Dec.
On 17 Dec, His Holiness attended a symposium on Aryadeva’s 400 Stanzas on the Middle Way (uma shigyapa) at Drepung Loseling.
The engagements also saw the Dalai lama inaugurate an international conference on Je Tsongkhapa: Life, Thought and Legacy at Gaden Lachi Monastery, participate in the 600th anniversary of Je Tsongkhapa’s Parinirvana at Gaden Lachi Monastery and attend a long life offering by several monasteries at Gaden Jangtse Monastery on 21st, 22nd and 23rd Dec respectively.
The octogenarian Tibetan leader’s visit to the South Indian state came exactly after two years since His last visit in December 2017.
His Holiness will now stay in Bodhgaya for 13 days for another set of engagements in one of the holiest of Buddhist sites.
The Dalai Lama’s itinerary includes teachings on Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo’s Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva (laklen sodunma) on 2nd Jan 2020 followed by conferring Avalokiteshvera Initiation (chenresig wang) on the 3rd Jan.
From 4 -6 Jan, the Dalai Lama will complete The Wheel of Teachings on Manjushri Empowerments (jamyang Choekhor) based on its proximal lineage that he began in Bodhgaya in December 2018.
All the teachings will be held at the Kalachakra Teaching Ground in Bodh Gaya.
