HH Dalai Lama visits Mahabodhi Centre in Leh after 32 Years

Dalai Lama lays foundation stone, blesses sapling and visits MIMC’s 1,000 Buddha World Peace project during his return to the Leh campus after 32 years.

LEH: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama returned to the Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre’s Devachan Campus in Leh on Sunday, 32 years after his first visit to the institution, laying a foundation stone, blessing a sapling and visiting the Centre’s 1,000 Buddha project dedicated to world peace.

The return visit brought the Dalai Lama back to the campus he had inaugurated and blessed in 1994, when the Mahabodhi project was still largely a vision. The Centre said his presence on Sunday renewed its commitment to education, humanitarian service, environmental responsibility, meditation, dialogue and the promotion of world peace.

The Dalai Lama was received by Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena, Founder and Spiritual Director of MIMC, along with monks, nuns, students, staff, volunteers and members of the Mahabodhi community. Traditional offerings were made to him before Ven. Sanghasena addressed the gathering and recalled the Centre’s journey since its early years.

He underlined the principles that have guided MIMC, particularly “Meditation in Action and Compassion in Action”, drawing upon the Dalai Lama’s teachings on compassion, wisdom, non-violence, universal responsibility and the understanding of humanity as one family.

The Dalai Lama subsequently laid the foundation stone for a new initiative at the campus and blessed a sapling. The Centre described the ceremony as a reflection of growth, renewal and its continuing commitment to environmental responsibility and a more sustainable future.

The gathering also witnessed light rainfall, which MIMC described as adding to the serenity of the occasion. The showers were warmly received by those present and became part of the day’s proceedings.

Students of Mahabodhi Residential School presented a song offering before introducing their institution and its approach to holistic education. The presentation highlighted the school’s stated objective of nurturing compassionate, responsible and socially conscious young people.

The Dalai Lama later visited the MIMC Buddha Park for World Peace and circumambulated the 1,000 Buddha statues. The project is intended to promote world peace and the idea of a global family, with the statues representing compassion, wisdom, peace and humanity’s shared aspiration for a better future.

During the visit, Ven. Sanghasena also briefed the Dalai Lama on MIMC’s future plans, including the proposed Mahakaruna University. The proposed institution is envisioned as a centre for the study, practice and propagation of universal compassion.

MIMC also expressed gratitude for the Dalai Lama’s message for the forthcoming International Black-Necked Crane Festival, which is being organised in collaboration with the UT Administration and international organisations. The initiative seeks to promote awareness and responsibility towards the conservation of the Black-Necked Crane and its fragile Himalayan habitat.

Another initiative on the Centre’s calendar is an International Conference on AI, Spirituality, Education and Compassion, scheduled for next month. The conference will examine the role of ethics, wisdom, education, spirituality and human values in responding to the rapid development of artificial intelligence.

The Devachan Campus now hosts participants from India and abroad through educational, spiritual, humanitarian, environmental, meditation and international programmes. MIMC said the campus has evolved into a platform for dialogue, interfaith harmony, inner transformation, service and the promotion of global peace.

For MIMC, the Dalai Lama’s return after 32 years marked a continuation of a journey that began with his blessing of the Devachan Campus in 1994. From a project that was then largely a vision, the Centre has developed into an institution with programmes spanning education, healthcare, humanitarian service, environmental responsibility and international engagement.