DHARAMSHALA, March 5: Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who will be turning 78 this year, has a packed schedule ahead of him in 2013.
According to his official website, the Dalai Lama, in the first nine months of the year will be traveling across three continents in addition to his extensive schedule in India.
A major bulk of the programmes will focus on teachings on various Buddhist texts, public talks on compassion and secular ethics, interfaith events, and discussions with scientists. A large share of these events will be held at universities and centres of learning around the world.
The Tibetan spiritual leader will begin his overseas programme in mid-April with a visit to Switzerland. The Dalai Lama is scheduled to teach in Fribourg followed by a discussion on sciences and humanism exchange in Lausanne and a public talk at the University of Bern.
In May, His Holiness will embark on a four-state tour of the United Sates, predominantly giving public lectures on universal responsibility, compassion and the global environment. He will first travel to Portland, Oregon followed by visits to Madison, Wisconsin, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Louisville, Kentucky.
Next in June, the Tibetan Nobel peace laureate will be flying out to New Zealand and Australia for a series of teachings and public talks. He will be visiting Christchurch, Dunedin, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Darwin.
There will also be a series of teachings in Dharamshala from June to September.
Yesterday, the Dalai Lama left for south Indian where on March 6 he will be inaugurating a conference organised by Tumkur University and Sera Jey Monastery on Contemporary Human Sufferings: Wisdom of Bhagwan Buddha.
This will be followed by teachings in New Delhi on March 9.
His Holiness will also be visiting Ravangla, Sikkim at the invitation of the state government on March 25-26.
As the Dalai Lama’s motorcade left the Tsug-la Khang yesterday, with the Tibetan leader beaming a warm smile, greeting the stream of followers and well-wishers standing by the roadside, an elderly Tibetan exclaimed that these instances always aroused mixed emotions.
“I am happy and proud that everybody in the world wants His Holiness to visit their place and listen to him, but at the same time these visits are taking a toll on his health,” the Tibetan man said. “I pray that he lives for hundreds of years and one of these days, very soon, we all will be following him to Tibet.”
