From above, it looks like waves of saffron around a splash of maroon and yellow. Get closer and you walk into a mini "southeast" Asia where more than 50 stalls are dishing out Thai, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Malaysian and Chinese cuisine.
In 1959, China invaded and occupied the resource-rich Buddhist homeland of Tibet, and they continue to operate a brutal domination of the once peaceful land. In spite of this, Western leaders have refused to cut ties to China, for fear of alienating a huge trading partner.
The Dalai Lama leads Kalachakra prayers during a ceremony to purify the ground where religious festivities will be held in the town of Bodh Gaya, believed to be the place where Buddha attained enlightenment, during the Kalachakra Buddhist festival in the Indian state of Bihar Friday Jan. 10, 2003. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)
The three-day preliminary teachings of the Kalachakra puja by His Holiness the Dalai Lama begins tomorrow at one in the afternoon. His Holiness will teach on the 37 Practices of Bodhisattva and Lamp of the Path to Enlightenment.
Security has been tightened in the pilgrim town of Bodhgaya in Bihar for the nine-day Kalchakra puja beginning today. Devotees of Lord Buddha in Bodhgaya are present in large numbers to participate in the puja - one of the most sacred rituals of Buddhism's Mahayana sect.
After using innovative means ranging from candle-light marches to beauty contests in Dharamsala, Tibetan groups have now hit upon a new strategy to raise awareness about Tibet’s occupation by China — a boycott of Chinese goods flooding Indian markets.
A group of Indian Buddhist monks have threatened to immolate themselves at Bodh Gaya in Bihar if the Dalai Lama does not mediate with them on their demands and not to hold his Kalchakra prayer on Sunday.
