115) THURSDAY, 20
OCTOBER 1977 : 293KMS. -
DHARAMSALA
We
were travelling through JAMMU,
PATHANKOT, NURPUR until arriving in DHARAMSALA
on high mountains. Here is a city
of Tibetan refugees with their
Lamaism temple, even the Dalai Lama himself had escaped from Chinese regime influence
to live here since 1959.
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| http://munichtomadras1977.blogspot.com |
There are
lantana flowers growing everywhere around the area.
Most of the flowers are red and yellow
. It was surprising that there were quite a number of European tourists here.
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| McCleod Ganj main street in DHARAMSALA - Photo : wikipedia.org / Bing images search |
Most of Tibetans here
are owners of restaurants and hotel
business. There are shops selling Tibetan souvenirs and hand woven Tibetan
carpets. The people are so friendly. I
was very surprised to see the Lama walking hand in hand with the girl
and sitting on the same level and sipping tea with the common man.
 |
| Tibetan woman pilgrim - Photo : chinatourguide.com / Google images search |
I
saw Tibetans and lamas in the temple praying mantra while walking and holding
a small cylinder with a small rope, tied
to the pendulum for casting a torque
around the axis of the cylinder.
 |
| Tibetan praying in "Prostration" style - Photo :chinatravelplan.co.uk / Google images search |
I've
seen here for the first time, Tibetans performing their homage to the Lord Buddha statue in a so-called “Ashtanga Pradit” or Prostration (is a gesture used in Buddhist practice to show
reverence to the Triple Gem with eight body
points touching the ground), standing with respect at the beginning and ended with a long flat stretching on the ground, repeatedly several times with
their full faith.
THE
14TH DALAI LAMA, TENZIN GYATSO OF TIBET
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| Dalai Lama - Photo : nydailynews.com / Bing images search |
WIKIPEDIA:
The 14th Dalai Lama (religious name: Tenzin Gyatso, shortened from Jetsun
Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, born Lhamo Dondrub, 6 July 1935)
is the 14th and current Dalai Lama, as well as the longest lived incumbent. Dalai
Lamas are the head monks of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, and is also well known for his lifelong
advocacy for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. Tibetan
Buddhists traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors
and a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
The
Dalai Lama was born in Taktser, Qinghai (also known to Tibetans as Amdo), and
was selected as the rebirth of the 13th Dalai Lama two years later, although he
was only formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama on 17 November 1950, at. the
age of 15. The Gelug school's government controlled an area roughly
corresponding to the Tibet Autonomous Region just as the nascent People's
Republic of China wished to assert central control over it. There
is a dispute over whether the respective governments reached an agreement for a
joint Chinese-Tibetan administration.
