(TibetanReview.net, Jul12’25) – The Dalai Lama was today accorded a grand ceremonial welcome at Leh, the capital of India’s Union Territory of Ladakh, where he is expected to spend the next one month to rest, give religious teachings, and interact with youth and religious communities.
He will stay at the Shiwatsel Photang, located in the outskirts of Leh, where he will hold a number of religious activities and teachings, reported deccanherald.com Jul 12.
A major highlight of the visit includes a two-day teaching on “The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva” by the Tibetan master Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo, scheduled for Jul 24 and 25. This will be followed by an Avalokiteshvara Empowerment on Jul 26, both events taking place on the Shiwatsel Teaching Ground.
The report said thousands of devotees from Ladakh, neighbouring Himalayan regions, and abroad were expected to attend the teachings.
The Dalai Lama has been visiting Ladakh almost annually since the 1980’s, and his teachings are a central event in the region’s religious calendar. This year’s visit carries added emotional weight as Buddhist communities begin a year-long celebrations honouring him on his 90th birthday for his decades-long contribution to global peace, compassion, and interfaith harmony, the report noted.
Ladakh is observing the visit as a part of its “year of gratitude and celebration” in honour of His Holiness’s lifetime of spiritual leadership and commitment to peace, the report said.
On Apr 10 last year, the Dalai Lama agreed to visit Ladakh and take part in the great summer dharma gathering at the Ladakh Karsha Monastery in Zanskar’s Padum valley but was disrupted by his New York City visit for a knee surgery. Karsha is the biggest monastery in Zanskar. He will visit the place for a few days at the end of the month, it was earlier reported.
His Holiness travels to Ladakh during Dharamshala’s monsoon season, seeking the region’s drier and more temperate climate, said the Central Tibetan Administration on its Tibet.net website Jul 12.