Indian sanghas receive teachings from the Dalai Lama

[Ensapa]

This is good news, that the Dalai Lama is spreading the Dharma to india again

Indian sanghas receive teachings from the Dalai Lama
Phayul[Saturday, June 01, 2013 18:21]
By Phuntsok Yangchen


His Holiness the Dalai Lama giving teachings on Shantideva's "A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life" at the request of Indian Sanghas at the Tsug-la Khang in Dharamshala on June 1, 2013. (Phayul photo/Phuntsok Yangchen)

DHARAMSHALA, June 1: Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama began his four-day teachings on Shantideva's A Guide to the Boddhisattva's Way of Life (chodjug) at the Tsug-la Khang, main temple near his exile residence in Dharamshala earlier today.

The teachings have been requested by a group of Indian sanghas and will go on till June 4.

According to the Department of Security under the Central Tibetan Administration, over 6000 disciples from 69 countries are attending the teachings. These include, 1200 from Nalanda, 1900 foreigners, 13 Chinese, and 371 disciples from the Himalayan region, DoS officials said.

Speaking at the beginning of the teachings, the 77-year old Tibetan leader expressed his happiness with the opportunity to teach Indian Buddhists.

The Dalai Lama said that he is pleased to give teachings to Indians as “these teachings originated from India.”

“Giving teachings on Buddhism back to Indians is like returning their ancestral Buddhism to a new generation of Indians,” the Tibetan leader, who has been living in exile in India for more than 50 years, said.

Among those attending the teachings, Avi, a disciple from England was overwhelmed upon seeing the Dalai Lama for the first time.

“His Holiness’ always speaks about respecting other cultures and religions which everybody can relate to even if you are not a Buddhist,” she said. “For some reason, I am feeling very emotional today.”

Live webcasts of the teachings from June 1-4, 2013 is available at dalailama.com/liveweb. His Holiness will be speaking in Tibetan with English, Hindi, Chinese and Russian language translations available.

[Tenzin Malgyur]

Wow! Rejoice for the 6000 over fortunate people who is attending the teachings by HH Dalai Lama in India. Wish I could also be there, but for now I should be contented to be able to catch the teachings from the live webcast. Just wondering if there were any restrictions to Dorje Shugden practitioners as in all of HHDL previous teachings. As for what Avi (the disciple from England) so proudly declared about how His Holiness always spoke about respecting other cultures and religions, is she aware of the ostracized Shugdenpas who are also Buddhist?

[Ensapa]

Here's a summary about the talk:

'Teaching Buddhism to Indians is like returning ancestral wisdom'
S Gopal Puri, TNN | Jun 3, 2013, 01.46 AM IST


DHARAMSALA: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, who has just returned from his tour of Europe, will be teaching Indians in the main Buddhist temple in McLeodganj. The four-day teachings have been requested for by a group of Indian nationals and will go on till June 4. About 4,000 Indians are presently attending the teachings, which are also translated into Hindi.

At the beginning of the session, the 77-year-old Dalai Lama said that he is very pleased with the opportunity to teach Indian Buddhists. "Teachings Buddhism to Indians is like returning their ancestral Buddhism to a new generation of Indians," said the Tibetan leader, who has been living in exile in India for more than 50 years.

According to the department of security under the Central Tibetan Administration, over 6,000 disciples from 69 countries are attending the teachings. These include 1,200 from Nalanda, 1,900 foreigners including 13 Chinese, and 371 disciples from the Himalayan region, DoS officials said.

Live webcasts of the teachings from June 1-4, 2013 is available at the website of the Dalai Lama. His Holiness will be speaking in Tibetan while English, Hindi, Chinese and Russian language translations will also be available for the devotees.

Dalai Lama would be leaving for New Zealand after the teachings session, where he would participate in various public talks, and will then leave for Australia. He would return to his exile home here in the last week of June, sources said.

[Ensapa]

Glad to see that the Indians are warming up to the Dalai Lama:

Dalai Lama's teachings drawing young Indians
Font size:    Vishal Gulati | Source: IANS


More young Indians are annually arriving in this Himalayan hill town to lend their ear to the teachings and and sermons of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, say Tibetans living in exile here. Last year, a thousand Indians came to this town to listen to what the 14th Dalai Lama has to say on things spiritual and temporal. This year, the number has gone up by nearly 200.

"These teachings were organised the second time, especially on the request of a group from India. Out of the 8,000 participants, over 1,200 were Indians," Tenzin Taklha, joint secretary at the Dalai Lama's office, told IANS. The four-day teachings, which concluded Monday, saw participants from 69 countries.

"We have come from Bangalore for the first time to attend the teachings of His Holiness (Dalai Lama)," Supriya Sharma, a senior executive with a multinational company, said. Her friend Isha Goel said: "Indians are known to rely on their spiritual and yoga gurus. Their inclination is often the result of the appearance of such gurus on television channels, but gradually there has been a shift from Hindu philosophy to Buddhism propagated by the Dalai Lama."

"Quite relaxing. The visit was focused on understanding Tibetan culture and the sources of its spiritual sustenance," Isha said. On the first day of teachings, the 77-year-old pontiff expressed happiness at teaching the Indians. "I am pleased to give teachings to Indians as these teachings originated from India," the Dalai Lama, whose sermons on ethics, non-violence, peace and religious harmony have made him one of the twentieth century's most popular and revered gurus, was quoted as saying by Tibetan advocacy website Phayul.com. "Giving teachings on Buddhism back to Indians is like returning their ancestral Buddhism to a new generation of Indians," the globe-trotting monk said.

Aides of the Dalai Lama said that seeing how Indians are drawn to the Dalai Lama's teachings, his official website (dalailama.com) was made available in Hindi too from May 25. Octogenarian Tashi Dolma, who was part of the Indian Buddhist group, travelled along with over 100 Buddhist devotees from Keylong in Himachal Pradesh for an audience with the Dalai Lama. The spiritual guru's teachings are free and open to the public. Even board and lodging is free for the participants, says the Dalai Lama's office.

The teaching sessions are held at the request of followers and devotees, mostly Westerners and Asians. The Dalai Lama teaches in Tibetan, and there are simultaneous translations in English, Hindi, Chinese and Russian for the participants. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese Communist rule in 1959. On reaching India, he first took up residence for about a year in Mussoorie in Uttarakhand, after which he moved to this Himachal Pradesh town where he continues to live.

In his addresses, the Dalai Lama is often quoted as saying: "India and Tibet share millennia old teacher-student relationship as Buddhism reached Tibet directly from India in the seventh century."