Dalai Lama leaves for Bylakuppee for a month-long sojourn after 7 years
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 3 Dec: The Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with his entourage, has temporarily departed from his residence in Dharamsala for a month-long sojourn in the Tibetan refugee settlement of Bylakuppe in Karnataka around 9:30 am today.
As the convoy of the Tibetan leader drove down from Tsuglag-khang, Tibetans and followers of the Dalai Lama lined the narrow roads of the hill town to pay their respects and get a glimpse of their spiritual leader.
The entourage is said to arrive in Bangalore tomorrow and will stay for a day before leaving for Bylakuppe, where they are scheduled to stay for a month at the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the seat of the Panchen Lama, who is the second highest-ranking lama of Tibet after the Dalai Lama.
Jigme Tsultrim, the Chief Representative Officer (CRO), South Zone of the Central Tibetan Administration(CTA), has told The Indian Express that “Winters in Dharamsala are quite severe. His Holiness is coming to Karnataka for a month-long retreat to rest and recuperate. Subject to his health, he may conduct some teachings and grant some audience at the Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Bylakuppe”. The spiritual leader had his Knee surgery in June last year.
According to a ground report by RFA, the whole settlement is actively engaged in preparation for the visit. The Tashi Lhunpo monastery is “ensuring all the arrangements without any lapses” for the Dalai Lama’s stay, while the CRO said, “We are ensuring preparation on all aspects from local roads repair to power facilities. Especially with many upcoming visitors from other places, we discussed what controls and preparations need to be made”.
Tibetans in Bylakuppe have expressed great joy over welcoming His Holiness after 7 years since his last visit in 2017. Tseten Phuntsok, an elderly resident of the settlement, had told the RFA, “When I heard that His Holiness is coming here, I felt overjoyed and chills on my body thinking that we would finally get to see him again as it had been a long time since we last saw him. I felt such immense joy that tears came to my eyes”.
