Guwahati, Assam, February 2: The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama Sunday inaugurated the first ever festival of Tibet in the northeastern city of Guwahati, often referred to as the gateway to the east. The 78 year old Nobel Laureate said that it was indeed an honor for him to open the festival of Tibet.
Also present on the inaugural function were Shri Tarun Gogoi, the chief minister of Assam, Shri Pema Khandu, minister for tourism in the Arunachal government and the Tibetan PM Lobsang Sangay, among others.
Speaking at the gathering, the Tibetan leader said humans should strive to create a sense of oneness among the seven billion human beings who are brothers and sisters. He also said the ancient civilization of Tibet dates back to thousands of years according to archaeological findings but that just being ancient does not make it admirable.
The Tibetan leader said culture is not merely the tradition of performing arts including songs and dances but a lot more. He said the Tibetan culture of compassion, peace and non-violence can be of immense benefit for the rest of the world. He said Tibetans in Tibet face Chinese restriction from some hardliners on their way of life including language and culture. “Their only concern is power, how to control, how to suppress. Out of their ignorance, they are really putting restriction on learning Tibetan and Tibetan culture.”
Pema Khandu, chief patron of the festival and son of late Arunachal CM Dorjee Khandu, said he was impressed by the idea of a Tibet festival in Guwahahti when Tibetan MPs Karma Yeshi and Yangchen Dolkar approached him with the proposal. Khandu said the main endeavor of the festival was to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Tibet and bring it closer to the minds of the people of Assam. “Its (Tibet) people, religion, art and culture went through extreme turbulent times but managed not only to survive but flourish in lands far away from its origin, it’s an inspiration to draw from, particularly for we the people of North East who are confronting modernity at the cost of our own rich culture and heritage.”
Assam CM Tarun Gogoi said he was fortunate to be sitting next to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He expressed hope that His Holiness’ message of love, compassion and religious harmony will also contribute towards ending insurgency in his state.
The Tibetan leader today gave a short teaching on basic Buddhism followed by life empowerment initiation of White Tara. Hundreds of devotees from Arunachal, Bhutan, Mustang and Nagaland thronged the Kala Shetra ground here to receive the teaching and empowerment from the Tibetan leader.
The Tibetan leader said a Buddhist must understand the meanings of religious prayers and mantras rather than just uttering it. He said if they understood the meanings of the teachings and initiations then their purpose of being there is served. “Otherwise, you would be able to just say that you had seen the Dalai Lama finding it hard to bend on his knees to prostrate,” said the Tibetan leader sending the gathering into laughter.
The Tibetan leader also said that all the different sects and sub sects of Tibetan Buddhism must not segregate on the basis of minor differences in traditional practices. “All the major religious traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and sub sects have their base in the great texts of Kangyur and Tengyur, so all the traditions and sects are eventually the same”. He said a 3 volume book in different languages excerpting important parts of the Kangyur and Tengyur will be published soon with the first one expected out by March or April.
After the teaching, His Holiness left for Shillong where he is scheduled to address the 6th Convocation of the Martin Luther Christian University on Feb. 3. His Holiness will give a religious discourse to the Buddhist Community on Feb. 4. His Holiness will also participate in an inter-faith event in the afternoon at the State Central Library in Shillong. This is the Tibetan leader’s first visit to Shillong.
