Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 4: His Holiness the Dalai Lama has agreed to visit Ladakh next summer, following a meeting with religious and community leaders from the region at his residence here on Friday .
The delegation included prominent figures such as Thiksey Rinpoche, Tsering Dorje, President of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), Tsering Angdus, President of the Ladakh Gonpa Association and Jigmet Rabtan, President of the Ladakh Youth Association. According to Thiksey Rinpoche, His Holiness agreed to the invitation to visit Ladakh and the Nubra region next summer.
The news comes as a welcome development for the Ladakhi people, who have been eagerly awaiting His Holiness’s visit since a few years. Speaking to the media, Tsering Dorje, President of LBA stated that the Ladhaki community had been concerned about the Dalai Lama’s health following his knee surgery.
This announcement follows an earlier request made in April by various Buddhist organizations from Ladakh. Initially, the Office of His Holiness had scheduled a visit for July 2024, but it had to be cancelled due to his knee surgery in the United States in June.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has also resumed giving public audiences, scheduled on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at his residence here. These sessions began following the long-life prayer offered by the Monpa community of Arunachal Pradesh in the first week of September.
In recent years, public audiences for the general public have increased, with thousands of people taking the opportunity to receive the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama’s blessings in person. These public audiences were temporarily halted when His Holiness travelled to the U.S. for knee surgery in June.
