By Tenzin Dharpo
BODH GAYA, JAN. 13: The foremost Tibetan Buddhist teachings and one of the most important dates in the calendar of Buddhists worldwide, the 34th and the 2017 edition of the Due-Khor-Wang-Chen (Wheel of Time) teachings today concluded following the completion of the all important Kalachakra Wang (initiation), here in Bodh Gaya, Bihar in central India.
The Tibetan leader before the third day of the Kalachakra initiation told the masses that the devotees who have gathered from various backgrounds and countries around the globe that they must not go empty handed going back to their lives after the teaching.
“One must take back something from the proceedings here; that is to say one must go back a more kind-hearted person or at least someone who does not do harm if he cannot do good. Otherwise it is just putting yourself through a rigorous travel and meager living conditions here and nothing else.”
The egalitarian Tibetan leader advised devotees who have attended the teachings over the years that one should view these experiences as a process involving personal commitment and practice thereby developing spiritual awareness and peace for this life as well as assurance of a good human form in the next.
With a hectic schedule that began since the Dalai Lama left Dharamshala earlier last month, the 81 year old since the last few days had developed a cold and cough worrying many devotees and admirers, all the while, the octogenarian leader himself jesting that now he will be showered with cough medicines from devotees as supposed to knee medicines he received earlier. He said that he is a little overwhelmed physically yet glad that he could accommodate many who are willing to partake in the teachings from various corners of the globe.
Barry Kerzin, a physician who has attended to the Dalai Lama in the past, wrote on his Facebook page, “This is the second day of the Kalacakra empowerment in Bodh Gaya and His Holiness has developed a cold. Today he is losing his voice and is coughing. We’ve given medicines, both Tibetan and Western. Let’s all make prayers for his rapid return to normal. Otherwise his general health is excellent.”
Tomorrow, the final day of the Kalachakra proceedings will feature a long life empowerment (Tsewang) for the mass by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a long life offering ceremony (Tenshug) for the Tibetan leader by the Tibetan government in exile and others.
