Tenzin Sherab* recounts events from three of the Dalai Lama’s trips marked by eyewitness occurrences of miracles.
To our naked eyes, what His Holiness the Dalai Lama did at that time looked uncanny and atypical. The whole entourage watched him gleefully and was stunned. But decades later, a flow of pilgrims flock to it in thousands – to have darshan and pray over it. The place has since become sacred to the locals and Buddhists from all over the country.
On March 31, 1959, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, having escaped the Chinese Communist Party’s onslaught on Tibet, entered ‘Lhasa Dwar’ – a special arch gate put up at Zemithang. It marks the precise spot of His Holiness’s entry into India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Newspapers and other media outlets reported that His Holiness planted his walking stick on the spot marking his entry into India in an act no one expected or discerned. Over the years, this walking stick struck roots and blossomed into a fully grown ‘holy tree’. And it has come to be revered as a relic commemorating that historic moment. The Arunachal state government is developing the historic town ‘Lumla’ located in southwestern corner of Tawang district, into a religious and spiritual tourism circuit. This has amazed us all. A walking stick used during his arduous escape route from the Chinese invasion has emerged as of historical significance.
Handprints
A few years later, in the early sixties, HH the Dalai Lama visited one of the Tibetan Settlements (located at Bylakuppe) in the south Indian State of Karnataka, where hundreds of newly arrived Tibetan refugees were being settled. The then Chief Minister of the state, Mr. S. Nijalingappa, and his cabinet warmly agreed to allocate hundreds of acres of land for settling the Tibetan people. The spreads of land thus allocated were dense forests in the south of Mysuru district.
The Tibetan refugees initially lived in tents, with little by way of basic necessities such as food, water, and other essential commodities for their sustenance. Some were even compelled to exchanged their prized possessions such as gold items with the locals for meagre grocery stuffs such as rice, wheat, etc. Many died from Tuberculosis. Many more died as a result of sudden exposure to radical new weather conditions they were not accustomed to as they worked hard to clear the jungle. The Dalai Lama’s visits to the Tibetan settlement at that critical juncture was greeted with huge sighs of relief.
His Holiness visited a newly built temple at Tibetan Camp Nos. 5 and 6, as everyone lined on both sides of the road to receive his divine darshan. Many could not, I am sure, have had a chance to greet him personally and tell the story of their long odyssey to freedom and to seek his blessings. But what left an indelible impression and admiration in them was that his handprints appeared in the temple after he made prostrations to the statues of the Buddha and other deities. The two handprints that appeared on the temple’s hard-surfaced cement floor has captivated his devotees and left the Tibetan people with a feeling of awe, adoration, and a sense of connection with him.
The divine handprints excited a huge public curiosity and admiration. The incident became viral within the communities and instilled a strong faith and devotion towards him. Was this another divine blessing that enlivened hundreds of his followers with a fresh breath of air and lives as they endured hardship during the process of their rehabilitation?
Tibetan Yogis in the past rarely displayed supernatural powers. The famous Yogi Milarepa was an exception. He climbed Mount Kailash and emerged subdued and enlightened. His is a story of a yogi with magical powers, with tales of being able to change his body into different shapes and flying across the sky like a bird, and so forth. In the aftermath of its subjugation of Tibet, the atheist CCP sent a few PLA expeditions to climb Mount Kailash. But the soldiers died or disappeared and never returned, and a further ban on climbing it was ordered.
As the diasporic Tibetan community finds itself in the middle of the sixth decade of living in exile, the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement has, with help from the local people and the State Government, become a significant Tibetan centre and a powerful testament to human resilience and hope. The preservation of Tibet’s unique culture, language, religion, and above all identity has catapulted the monastic centres, especially Namdroling Golden Temple, on the Karnataka State Tourism map and has become a must-see place of great interest and faith. Within its easy reach, Sera Jey Monastic Institute, with its presiding deity ‘Hayagriva,’ boasts thousands of monk-students undergoing both modern education and traditional studies. The Institute is officially recognized by the University of Mysore – one of the premier Universities in India.
Prayers Answered
In the fall of 1970, His Holiness the Dalai Lama wanted to meet his followers in Thoise, near Siachen Glacier in Ladakh, located close to Tibet’s border. The Detachment Commander of the forward Indian air force base at Pathankot in Punjab got a call from the Air Headquarters in New Delhi to fly the Dalai Lama to Thoise, accompanied by Secretary LL Mehrotra of the Indian Government. In his beautiful article, Air Commander Conceicao penned his experience in Bangalore Mirror, explaining that his agile piloting averted the aircraft from crashing and how devotees at Leh, where the plane was forced to land, got their prayers answered by His Holiness, who then continued to Thoise by another air force plane.
Cruising at the height of 18,000 feet, the twin-engine packet aircraft, which was known for its engine failures in the past, suffered a loud explosion and a fire burned on the starboard engine. The pilot immediately commenced emergency descent to Leh and briefed the Dalai Lama of the impending life-threatening danger. As per the pilot, His Holiness agreed to a major risk, but never exhibited any signs of panic or nervousness and, instead, kept smiling.
Upon landing at Leh airport within a few minutes, the pilot was surprised to see a large number of Ladakhis kissing the ground and holding white scarves to greet the Dalai Lama. The pilot asked one of the devotees how he knew about the Dalai Lama’s unscheduled arrival. To his shock, the Ladakhis told the pilot that they all knew His Holiness was to visit Thoise, but they all kept praying that His Holiness could come to Leh. The timing of engine failure and the remaining distance the aircraft could cover for a landing at Leh airport could only be rested with omnipresence for miracles to happen. In the twist of a hovering tragedy, the faith and guru devotion got their prayers answered.
Several other events of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as told by senior monks, remain beyond the comprehension of an ordinary person like me. Pondering over such supernatural, yet esoteric turn of events certainly brings in me great solace and peace of mind. There is not an iota of doubt in the minds of Tibetans whenever or wherever such events of His Holiness the Dalai Lama take place. Over the centuries, Tibetans have regarded the Dalai Lama – an ethereal manifestation of Avalokiteshvara (Chinese: Guanyin) – as a beacon of peace and compassion, and as a testimony to the transformative power of inner peace.
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* Tenzin Sherab is a former Principal of Sera Je Secondary School, Bylakuppe, Karnataka. He is currently the President of Sera Jey Foundation, California.