Dharamsala, December 19 – Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama returned to his headquarters here Thursday after a long foreign tour.
Tibetan Buddhist clergy held special prayers in the town’s main monastery to mark the occasion. Large number of Tibetan followers eagerly waited on roads to welcome their spiritual head.
The Dalai Lama was on a month-long tour to Italy and many places in India. He paid a brief courtesy visit to the Vatican.
The Dalai Lama’s visit to Italy stirred controversy because no meeting was planned with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Tendar, a Buddhist follower, said His Holiness will hold seminar on Bodhisttva’s way of life from December 29. “Today he (the Dalai Lama) is supposed to be arriving here at 10 to 11 am (local time). And when here he will be giving teachings of Bodhi Satva requested by the Koreans and it will be starting from 29th of this month,” he said.
The Dalai Lama runs a government-in-exile in Dharamsala in the country after fleeing Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule. He now seeks greater autonomy for the Himalayan region.
