Thousands of followers gathered in and around the Tibetan temple outside Dalai Lama's house in Dharamshala this morning to celebrate his 80th birthday.
Thousands of followers gathered in and around the Tibetan temple outside Dalai Lama's house in Dharamshala this morning to celebrate his 80th birthday.
According to the Tibetan tradition, a person's 80th birth anniversary bears special significance and is celebrated as a milestone. "We pray that His Holiness the Dalai Lama live for a hundred aeons, that all his wishes be fulfilled with spontaneity, and that the just cause of Tibet prevail with speediness," Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Penpa Tsering said.
He praised the Dalai Lama for his efforts in turning the Tibetan leadership into a democracy, for the benefit of Tibetans. "His Holiness was only 16 years old, when he took leadership of Tibetans at that pivotal time. And finally, he has single handedly been responsible for the flourishing and spread of the Buddhist religion," he said.
The Central Tibetan Administration celebrated the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday as per Tibetan calendar on June 21. Praying for the long life of the Dalai Lama, the global face of the Tibetan movement in exile, the CTA said, "he is the life and soul of Tibetan people."
The Tibetan government-in-exile, on this occasion, expressed hope that the Chinese leadership would continue the dialogue process with the envoys of the spiritual leader. "It is our hope that the Chinese leadership will soon understand and accept the middle-way approach to a mutually beneficial solution and continue the dialogue process with the envoys of the Dalai Lama as the only way to resolve the issue of Tibet," Tibetan government-in-exile said in a statement here on Tuesday.
Lobsang Sangay, democratically-elected political leader and the PM of the Tibetan government-in-exile said that it has been long-standing demand of the countrymen that the Dalai Lama returns to Lhasa and Tibetans get freedom.
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