His Holiness the Dalai Lama: “As soon as I wake in the morning, I reflect on bodhichitta. Then I consider how things appear to be objectively existent, but when I think it through, I see that they don’t actually exist that way. I reflect on these principles every day.

February 24, 2024. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – The Tsuglagkhang, the Main Tibetan Temple, and the courtyard before it were packed this morning with an estimated 8000 people, Tibetans, people from the Himalayan region, and others from further afield. They had all gathered to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama give his customary discourse on the ‘Day of Offerings’, the full-moon day of the first month of the Tibetan New Year and the culmination of the Great Prayer Festival.

His Holiness walked from the gate to his residence to the throne at the head of the courtyard, below the temple. He was preceded by monks playing the Tibetan horn known as gyaling and another swinging a censer. A monk walking behind him carried a large yellow ceremonial umbrella. To the left of the throne, when His Holiness took his seat, was a gathering of eminent monks and to the right sat members of the Central Tibetan Administration. On the table next to him was a white orchid in full bloom.

A chant-master led a recitation of the ‘Heart Sutra’ followed by verses of homage to the Buddha, Manjushri, Maitreya, Nagarjuna from Tsongkhapa’s ‘Concise Stages of the Path. Meanwhile, tea and sweet rice were served. The offering of a mandala and request for His Holiness teach was presented by Education Kalon Tharlam Dolma Changra followed by the Abbots of Gyutö and Namgyal Monasteries. The entire congregation joined together in chanting the verse for taking refuge and generating the awakening mind.

“So, today, we’re all gathered here in this courtyard for a Dharma discourse,” His Holiness declared. “In the world today an increasing number of people are taking an interest in inner development, especially those whose lives have been focused on materialistic concerns. They are taking an interest in training their minds.

“The theistic religious traditions are good, but what distinguishes Buddhism is its thorough understanding of the workings of the mind. This is what attracts the interest of scientists. Our approach to finding inner peace by training the mind is both realistic and scientific. This is a tradition that has been upheld in Tibet and the regions around it. Read the rest of this entry »