Brussels, July 7 – More than 250 Tibetans and their Belgian friends celebrated the 68th Birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama yesterday at Karma Sonam Gyatso Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre in Schoten near the Belgian city of Antwerpen.
The elaborate day-long celebrations began with the traditional incense-burning ceremony (sang-sol) at the Buddhist Centre with prayers led by Lama Karta the resident Tibetan lama of the Centre. This was followed by a prayer-session dedicated to the Long Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
After the prayers, the Tibetan Community in Belgium, the organiser of the celebration, hosted a meeting at which the following guests spoke, Mr. Migyur Dorjee, from Bureau du Tibet in Brussels, Mr. Sonam Frasi, Member of Tibetan Parliament in Exile and Ngawang Sangdrol, the most well-known female political prisoner of Tibet. Ngawang Sangdrol¹s emotional account about her many years of imprisonment was highlight of this gathering.
This evening the Bureau du Tibet hosted a reception in honour of the 68th Birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, at Nalanda Institute, a Tibetan Buddhist Centre in the Belgian capital. At the reception Mr. Kelsang Gyaltsen, Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the European Union, received guests who included senior officials of the Belgian government, diplomatic community, parliamentarians, officials of the European Commission and the Council.
The reception began with a long life prayer of His Holiness by lamas and short introductory speech by Envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen which was followed by the Tibetan song performed by participants of the first Tibetan Youth Leadership Programme organised by International Campaign for Tibet-Europe.
