(TibetanReview.net, Feb01’25) –Since arriving at the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in South India’s Karnataka-state town of Bylakuppe, home to the largest community of exile Tibetans, on Jan 5 for an extended winter sojourn, the Dalai Lama has maintained a fairly busy schedule, meeting guests, attending events, and giving blessings to streams of devotees.
Ahead of his 90th birthday on Jul 6, the Dalai Lama is to attend three long-life ceremonial offerings being made by Tibetan Buddhist monastic communities during this month.
The first of these ceremonial offerings will be made by the Sera Monastery located in the Tibetan settlement in the town on Feb 5. The event is scheduled to be held in the Sera Lachi Assembly Hall.
This will be followed by long-life offering to be made by the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery on Feb 15, with the venue being the monastery’s assembly hall.
And the third scheduled long-life offering is to be made by the Gyudmed Tantric Monastery at the monastery’s assembly hall. This monastery is located in a Tibetan settlement in the same state’s Hunsur city, some 52 km away from Bylakuppe.
While Hunsur is home to the Rabgayling Tibetan Settlement, Bylakuppe hosts the Tibetan settlements of Lugsung Samdupling and Dickyi Larsoe. Karnataka is home to two other Tibetan settlements as well, namely Dhondeling in Kollegal and Doeguling in Mundgod.
The long-life ceremonies will be held in the morning and they typically attract large crowds of devotees.
The Dalai Lama has assured devotees at numerous long-life offering events over the past several years that he expects to live to be more than 110 years of age.
The Central Tibetan Administration is to hold a globe-wide, year-long series of events to mark the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday from Jul 6 under the theme of “Year of Compassion”.
The above dates are subject to change, said a notice on the Dalailama.com website seen today.