H.H. the Dalai Lama addressing birthday well-wishers in Dharamsala alongside distinguished guests
As the morning of 6 July dawned over McLeod Ganj, thousands gathered in the courtyard of the Tsuglhakang Temple to celebrate His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 77th birthday. This special celebration, the first observance of the Dalai Lama’s birthday after his retirement from political power last August, was planned with a focus on local participation instead of international spectacle, and the Dharamsala community did not disappoint.
Tibetans, Indians and foreign nationals alike crowded into the temple, all vying for a view of the raised platform where local officials were already seated. Just after 9 AM, His Holiness arrived, shaking hands and waving at the well-wishers lining his path to the podium. He was accompanied by Tibetan Prime Minister Dr. Lobsang Sangay, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, and parliamentarians and elected officials of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
Celebrations observing His Holiness’s birthday took place in all the Tibetan settlements around India, and indeed around the world. Buddhist centers as far away as Switzerland and Australia opened their doors to thousands of eager guests.
In Nepal, Tibetans held prayer ceremonies and parties despite a ban in Kathmandu on public celebrations of the event. Some exiled Tibetans in the capital were even barred by police from entering a party at a local school, but local authorities eventually relented, allowing the celebrations to continue as long as no public anti-Chinese expression occurred.
Tibetans hold Sangsol ceremony in Tibet's Amdo province on the Dalai Lama's birthday
Despite heavy restrictions by Chinese security forces deployed throughout the region, Tibetans in Lhasa reportedly burned incense and juniper berries in the traditional Sangsol ceremony at the Jokhang Temple. In Amdo and Kham, monks, nuns and laypeople gathered at monasteries or on hilltops, many carrying the Dalai Lama’s portrait and offering white khatas and prayers for his long life.
Back in Dharamsala, His Holiness addressed the swelling crowd of birthday guests, saying, “I would like to thank all here who have attended my birthday and have wished me well on this day. Everyone considers birthdays as very important events, but as Tibetans, we usually don’t regard birthdays as highly as others, traditionally. If we start regarding birthdays as important, then every day when we get up in the morning should also be considered like a birthday.”
“In a given day each day is important and one should try and help other people, but if unable to then at least one should not hurt others. Every day I promise myself to treat others in this way. If I can get up each day and help and not hurt others, this is good. My life is spent like this and today I am 77 years old.”
Concluding the day’s events were performances in the early afternoon and evening by artists from the Tibetan Institute for Performing Arts. As positive thoughts and birthday wishes poured in from around the globe, the Dalai Lama remained focused on his message of nonviolence and the future of the Tibetan community.
Acknowledging his newly simplified role as the apolitical spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, His Holiness concluded: “If people fight each other because of economics, or because of political power, they cannot explain the reason. But a person who talks about love and compassion, sometimes they kill and fight; this is a very surprising thing. The main kind of happiness should come from inside, from within the mind, not from economics, not from political power, the main happiness is from within.”
“Now, my political power is already handed over, now I am totally retired from this role politically. Those who have continued the hard work with the Tibetan government, I would like to thank you. So, for those who are carrying on, I hope you continue as before.”
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