By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, August 28: Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama returned to his residence in Dharamshala on Wednesday, concluding a two-month journey for his medical treatment in the United States and engagements with Tibetan communities abroad.
The 89-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader arrived at Gaggal airport this morning, where he was warmly received by CTA President Penpa Tsering, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, and representatives from various faiths and traditions. Hundreds of Tibetans gathered for the welcome, creating a festive atmosphere.
Traditional Tashi Shölpa dancers performed at various locations, while monks, nuns, and laypeople lined the streets with traditional scarves and incense. Former officials of the Central Tibetan Administration gathered near His Holiness’s residence to pay their respects and one official remarked that with the Dalai Lama’s return, “Dharamsala had come back to life.”
The octogenarian spiritual leader’s two-month journey began on June 21 when he left Dharamshala for knee surgery in the United States. Following successful treatment at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, His Holiness spent time in Syracuse recuperating for six weeks and engaging in religious activities. Notable events included inauguration of a library and exhibition hall named in his honour and teaching at the Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies in Ithaca, NY. Tibetans in North America offered him a long life ceremony and teaching at the UBS Arena in New York, where he addressed over 17,000 people.
Before returning to India, the Dalai Lama made a stop in Zurich, Switzerland, where the Tibetan community in Europe offered another long-life prayer and subsequent teachings by His Holiness to more than 14,000 devotees. He then flew to New Delhi, taking a day of rest before making the final leg of his journey back to Dharamshala.
