Dalai Lama charms Monpas of Tawang

The long wait got finally over in this frontier district of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China, with the landing of the Jagson chopper carrying Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama this morning.

Tashi Delek, Tashi Delek (we welcome you) ranted the air of the Tawang township which got a new lease of life with the arrival of the spiritual leader.

Braving the chilli winter, thousands of devotees thronged various parts of the town as well as the helipad to have a glimpse of Dalai Lama, whom the Mahayana Buddhists across the world worship as the 14th incarnation of Buddha.

''We are a bit excited to see His Holiness in our midst. Our hearts bleed when we think of him and how he fled to India from Tibet,'' said Lama Ngawang Norbu of Tawang Monastery, who, along with several fellow monks, lined up in front of the main prayer hall holding gyantsens (long poles with flag inscribing Buddhist scripts which symbolized dharma) to welcome him.

The Dalai Lama, immediately after his arrival went to the Tawang monastery where he inaugurated the newly constructed museum and offered mandala (prayer) at the Dukhang (main prayer hall of the monastery).

His Holiness was accompanied by many devotees, including a few of his officials from the Tibetan government in exile.

Abbot of Tawang Monastery Guru Rimpoche, who accompanied the Dalai Lama from helipad, was holding the Dhu (golden canopy) while a few senior monks were wearing Tsesha (yellow cap) joined the procession.

A religious atmosphere descended in the monastery with sounds of Jaling (long trumpet) and Rhadung (short trumpet) reverberating the air with fragrance of Tsang Theng (agarbatti) as His Holiness proceeded towards the prayer hall.

Talking to reporters, the Dalai Lama maintained that his visit was purely religious and apolitical. ''My aim is to spread religious harmony,'' he added.

Later in the evening, he visited the school library of the Centre for Buddhist Cultural Studies adjacent to the Monastery and addressed the staff and monk students.

-- (UNI) -- 08CA24.xml

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