‘Dr. Arun Gandhi and Martin Luther King III will grace the occasion to mark the birthday of His Holiness in Washington on July 6,’ announced Tenzin Taklha, joint secretary at the Dalai Lama’s office on Monday.
Over 100,000 people are expected to turn out for the Tuesday July 6th event being held at the Verizon Convention Center and emceed by Whoopi Goldberg.
The Dalai Lama will then begin a ‘Kalachakra’ – 11 days of Tibetan Buddhist teachings meant to promote enlightenment, tolerance and world peace.
He said the Nobel laureate Monday morning left on a 13-day visit to the US, where he will conduct the Kalachakra ceremony for world peace.
Dr. Gandhi said that the Lama’s Kalachakra, “… comes at a critical time for a world reeling in poverty, violence, hunger and war.” He added that the spiritual leader will participate in birthday celebrations that include prayer meetings and a short discourse.
Taklha said the Dalai Lama’s visit is totally religious and ‘there is no scheduled program to meet US officials there’. ‘Similar functions will also be held here in Dharamsala,’ he added.
Born on July 6, 1935, at Taktser hamlet in northeastern Tibet, the Dalai Lama was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama Thubten Gyatso.
Martin Luther King III
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent campaign for democracy and freedom in his homeland. Ever since he fled to India, he has spent his time in exile pushing for autonomy for Tibet.
A crowd of enthusiastic followers, many of them in orange and yellow robes, greeted the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader with singing and drumming.
One of them said the name Dalai Lama means “ocean of peace,” and that he’s believed to be the reincarnation of the Buddha of love and compassion.
India is home to around 100,000 Tibetans.
Celebrations in honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 76th birthday held in Washington DC, USA, on July 6, 2011. (www.dalailama.com) – Here is the video of the first day event, very moving. Arun Gandhi gives his address at the 30-min mark after Desmond Tutu.
we need love and compassion in all parts of the world.and also in my country Iran.we need Democracy and peace.