Dalai Lama arrives in Bodh Gaya for Kalchakra puja

Dalai reached Bodh Gaya shortly after participating in a small function at Buddha Smiriti Park in Patna where he a planted a sapling.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also joined the event.

“Buddha’s messages for peace and mercy are still very much relevant,” he told the media here.

The land of Buddha in the meanwhile has been tastefully decked up for the Buddhist ceremony which starts next week.

Authorities said a 4,400 square feet stage has been set up from where the His Holiness will give his holy discourses to his followers.

A huge canopy has also been erected at the Kalchakra ground at Bodh Gaya to accommodate some 60,000 Buddhist devotees who will perform rituals in the presence of their spiritual leader.

The 10-day-long event begins from Jan 3 at Bodh Gaya—the place where Buddha got enlightenment under the holy peepal tree in the 6th century BC.

Around a million Buddhists from places such as USA, Britain, Germany, France and Switzerland are expected to attend the Kalchakra puja.

According to the official website of the Office of the Dalai Lama, His Holiness, along with the monks of Namgyal Monastery and senior lamas, will conduct Kalchakra rituals from Jan 3 to 5.

His Holiness will be giving the Kalachakra at the request of the Kashag of the Central Tibetan Administration, it said.

During this occasion, His Holiness will give preliminary teachings on Shantideva's A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life and Kamalashila's The Middling Stages of Meditatio, from Jan 6 to 8.

On Jan 9, the Kalachakra Ritual Dance will be performed by the monks of Namgyal Monastery. His Holiness will confer the Kalachakra Initiation from Jan 10 to 13.

On Jan 14, a long life empowerment and offering prayers for the long life of His Holiness will be performed.

The office of His Holiness has suggested the devotees to arrange FM radios sets on their own to listen to the translation saying it will not be possible to get radios in Bodh Gaya.

(thebiharpost.com)