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Dalai Lama emphasizes helping all sentient beings at Zurich long-life prayers offering

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(TibetanReview.net, Aug25’24) – A capacity crowd of 15,000 Tibetans and others from across Europe filled the Hallenstadion in the Swiss city of Zurich to make a long-life (Tenshug) prayers offering to His Holiness the Dalai Lama this morning. Switzerland was among the very first few countries to resettle Tibetan refugees after China consummated its annexation of Tibet in 1959.

In his speech the Dalai Lama has told the audience what being a Buddhist religious person meant. “Cultivating warm-heartedness is the essence of religion. Cultivating the awakening mind of bodhichitta involves the intention to bring happiness to all sentient beings. It enables you to fulfil the goals of others and yourself.”

He has noted that even people who don’t think of themselves as religious recognize that Tibetan Buddhism includes many solutions to the problems we face today.

People in the outside world are especially attracted by Tibetan Buddhism’s instructions about the workings of the mind and emotions and ways to cultivate positive qualities within us. “Even in China faith and understanding of the Buddhadharma has grown,” he has noted.

As he conducted a brief ceremony for cultivating the awakening mind of bodhichitta, His Holiness has suggested that the gathering think of all sentient beings as having been our kind mothers. In an effort to repay that kindness we should make a strong determination to bring benefit and happiness to all sentient beings. And having generated bodhichitta we should call on all sentient beings as our guests at a feast of happiness.

“The awakening mind of bodhichitta is the key to fulfilling your own and others’ goals. At the same time negative thoughts such as anger and pride subside,” he has added.

His Holiness has also given the transmission of the mantra of Buddha Shakyamuni and Avalokiteshvara, the patron deity of Tibet, by asking those assembled to recite them after him.

After his knee replacement surgery in New York City on Jun 28, followed by a long-life prayers offering by a capacity packed UBS Arena there on Aug 22, the Dalai Lama landed at Zurich Airport on Aug 23 morning.

Mario Fehr, the representative of Zurich cantonal government; Yashbir Singh, the Government of India’s Liaison Officer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama; Naveen Hooda, secretary of the Indian Embassy in Bern, had joined some 1,200 Tibetans for the Swiss reception led by Representative Ms Thinley Chukki of the Tibet Bureau, Geneva.

The Dalai Lama last visited Switzerland in Sep 2018 when he attended the 50th anniversary of the Tibet Institute in Rikon in Zurich’s Töss Valley. On an earlier visit in Aug 2005, he held eight days of lessons in the Hallenstadion; some 30,000 people from 44 countries travelled to Oerlikon at the time, with around 270 journalists from Switzerland and abroad reporting on the event, noted swissinfo.ch Aug 24.

The Dalai Lama will arrive at New Delhi airport on Aug 26 evening and will be back in Dharamshala, his exile home, on Aug 28.

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