Dalai lama offers prayers at Mahabodhi temple on Dec 16.
Credit: PTI Photo
Gaya: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama offered prayers at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya on Saturday.
The Dalai Lama used a battery-driven automatic car to commute from the Tibetan monastery where he is staying to the Mahabodhi temple, a UNESCO world heritage site. The temple is situated at a place where Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment more than 2,000 years ago.
The Nobel laureate was greeted by a large number of Buddhist monks and devotees en route, and upon reaching the temple was escorted to the sanctum sanctorum by priests.
The Dalai Lama arrived at Bodh Gaya amid tight security on Friday. From the airport, he travelled to Bodh Gaya under heavy security cover. A large number of people stood on either side of the road to catch a glimpse of the Dalai Lama, as he drove to the Tibetan monastery at Bodh Gaya.
According to the information provided by the district administration, the Dalai Lama will inaugurate the three-day International Sangha Forum 2023. The Forum will be held on December 20, 21 and 22 at the International Convention Center Bodh Gaya.
Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, may also attend the function on December 20. On December 23, the Tibetan spiritual leader will participate in a World Peace Prayer Session in the morning with delegates at the International Sangha Forum along with the public at the Mahabodhi Stupa. He will give three days teachings at the Kalachakra Teaching Ground on December 29-31.
He will attend a Long Life Prayer that will be offered to him in the morning at the Kalachakra Teaching Ground on January 1, 2024.
Tight security arrangements are in place in view of Dalai Lama's stay, the site of whose discourse was rocked by a low-intensity blast in January 2018.