Sri Lankan University organises symposium on 88th birthday of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama

A symposium was organised at a university in Sri Lanka in order to celebrate the 88th birthday of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in a meaningful way.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, celebrated his 88th birthday on July 6, 2023, at the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka. He is the spiritual and religious head of the Tibetan people and is revered across the world, according to Satipatthana magazine.

Dalai Lama has written more than 100 books based on Buddhist doctrine and has delivered an uncountable number of teachings based on Sutra, Abhidhamma, Vinaya and many other topics.

Based on the great kindness arisen from the Buddha’s teachings and following an unchanging policy of non-violence, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1989 for his unique peace ability for peacemaking.

Millions of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s admirers and devotees from all over the world celebrated his 88th birthday in their various nations. The University of Kelaniya’s Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Department of Philosophy, Department of Sanskrit and Eastern Studies, the Foundation for Buddhist Brotherhood, and the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) organised an International Scholarly Symposium on his birthday to commemorate it meaningfully in Sri Lanka.

The keynote address for the Scholarly Symposium’s opening programme was given by eminent Tibetan scholar and former vice chancellor of the Central Tibetan University, Prof. Geshe Ngawang Samten, on the subject of “His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s Commitment to Humanity.” He spoke movingly about the Dalai Lama’s vows and how crucial they are to maintaining the contemporary world, according to Satipatthana.

Moreover, the Tibetans in Exile also celebrated the Tibetan spiritual leader’s birthday on July 6. Scores of elders, young women, monks and others of the Tibetan community gathered in the Tibetan school Chhota Shimla to celebrate the birthday of their temporal leader. The Indian Buddhist community and local residents also participated in the celebration.

The 14th Dalai Lama was born on July 6, 1935, in a small farming village in Takster, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two, the boy Lhamo Dhondup was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama in October 1939. He was brought to Lhasa and was formally installed as the head of Tibet on February 22, 1940. Boy Lhamo Dhondup was later named Tenzin Gyasto, and his monastic education was started at the age of six.

Dalai Lama is a Mongolian term, which means “Ocean of Wisdom”, and the Dalai Lamas are the manifestation of the Bodhisattva of compassion. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own enlightenment and chosen to take rebirth to serve according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

The Dalai Lama assumed full political powers in 1950 after the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1949. In March 1959, after the suppression of the Tibetan National Uprising, Dalai Lama was forced to escape into exile in India with over eighty thousand refugees. For the last six decades, the Dalai Lama has been working for the promotion of peace, love and compassion. (ANI)