(TibetanReview.net, Jul22’25) – After being delayed by bad weather for two days, the Dalai Lama has flown by helicopter to Padum in Zanskar, Ladakh, on Jul 21 to inaugurate a Great Summer Debate event at the Karsha Monastery and also a newly built palace there – the Karsha Phodrang (KarGön Palace).
He was greeted by the people of Zanskar and formally welcomed by Pasang Lhawang, President of the Zanskar Buddhist Association; the Deputy Commissioner, Kargil District, Rakesh Kumar; the Senior Superintendent of Police, Kargil, Shri Raam; as well as three Councillors of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
The Chair of the Organizing Committee of the Great Summer Debate event, Geshé Losang Tsephel, opened the proceedings, saying, “Monasteries, nunneries and schools in Zanskar and Ladakh have taken to heart His Holiness’s advice not to leave the classic texts on the shelf unread, but to study and investigate them. This Summer Mega Symposium (Great Summer Debate) is part of that project. Focusing on this Symposium has been very beneficial for the people of Ladakh.”
And he continued: “His Holiness has told us that the people of the Himalayan Region have a special responsibility to keep the Buddhism of Tibet alive. Buddhist teachings have not only benefited Buddhists, but also those who simply seek happiness in this life. Their benefit extends beyond the monastic setting to include schools. Monks and nuns from Ladakh, Zanskar, Lahaul & Spiti, Kinnaur and so forth, as well as children from 27 schools are participating in this symposium at Karsha Monastery. School children now routinely learn about ‘mind and awareness’ as well as ‘logic and reasoning’, which have become part of their mainstream curriculum.”
He also said the Summer Symposium creates opportunities for people of different faiths to hold discussions with one another, is an opportunity to spread education.
In his address, the Dalai Lama recalled that while in Beijing in 1954, Mao Zedong told him, in all sincerity, that religion was poison, which made him realize that the Great Helmsman of China was hostile to the Dharma.
He then continued: “The Chinese Communist policy is that religious tradition is no more than blind faith and so deserves to be destroyed. They consider the Dharma with animosity. However, the teaching of the Buddha we uphold combines study, reflection and meditation. The study of the great treatises in the light of logic and reason is something wonderful.”
The inaugural event was also addressed by the Kargil DC (Deputy Commissioner, IAS), Mr Rakesh Kumar, who sought His Holiness’s blessings for the peace and prosperity of the people of Ladakh.
(Source: Dalailama.com, Jul 21, 2025)