Central Tibetan Administration, Sikyong Penpa Tsering speaks during a special lecture on “14th Dalai Lama’s Guru-Dakshina to Bharat” at India Habitat Centre, in New Delhi on June 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

New Delhi:

The Dalai Lama has returned to his home in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, after undergoing knee replacement surgery in New York in June.

The Tibetan spiritual leader was accorded a warm welcome by the local people at Kangra Airport, according to the Dalai Lama’s official website.

The Dalai Lama was recovering well from the surgery and was expected to continue improving over the next 6 to 12 months, said Dr David Mayman, the chief of the adult reconstruction and joint replacement service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, according to news agency Associated Press.

His surgical incision had completely healed without any complications, physicians to the Dalai Lama Dr Tsetan D Sadutshang and Dr Tsewang Tamdin said, according to Associated Press.

While in New York, the Dalai Lama met senior US officials in a rare high-level direct meeting between Washington and the exiled leader.

The Dalai Lama met senior US State Department official Uzra Zeya and White House National Security Council official Kelly Razzouk. During this meeting Ms Zeya “reaffirmed the US commitment to advancing the human rights of Tibetans and supporting efforts to preserve their distinct historical, linguistic, cultural, and religious heritage”.

The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet. China considers him a separatist and opposes contact by officials of any country with him. China has not had any direct contact with the exiled leader or his representatives since 2010.

During the audience with the Dalai Lama, Ms Zeya also discussed US “support for resuming dialogue between the People’s Republic of China and His Holiness and his representatives”, a statement by the US Department of State said.

China’s foreign ministry condemned the meeting on Thursday. “China firmly opposes any country allowing the Dalai Lama to visit under any pretext and strongly opposes any form of meetings between government officials of any country and the Dalai Lama,” ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, adding that Beijing had “lodged a strong protest” with Washington.

The Dalai Lama, 89, stepped down as the political head of the Tibetan community in 2011, handing over his responsibilities to an elected leadership.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. File
| Photo Credit: AP

“China firmly opposes any country allowing the Dalai Lama to make visits under any pretext,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday (August 22, 2024.)

Senior officials from the U.S. State Department and the White House met with the Dalai Lama in New York on Wednesday (August 21, 2024) and “reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to advancing the human rights of Tibetans,” the State Department said.

The meeting with the 89-year-old exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism was expected to roil China, which considers him a dangerous separatist and opposes contact with him by officials of any country.

“China has made solemn protests with the U.S.”, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a regular press briefing. “We don’t allow the Dalai Lama to engage in political separatist activities in the U.S.”

Last month, China expressed strong opposition to a U.S. law signed by President Joe Biden that presses Beijing to resolve a dispute over Tibet’s demands for greater autonomy, and vowed to “firmly defend” its interests.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the “appointment of a so-called special coordinator of Tibetan issues constitutes interference in internal affairs.”

New York:

Senior officials from the U.S. State Department and the White House met with the Dalai Lama in New York on Wednesday and “reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to advancing the human rights of Tibetans,” the State Department said.

The meeting with the 89-year-old exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism will likely irritate China, which considers him a dangerous separatist and opposes contact by officials of any country with him.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, traveled to New York in June for medical treatment on his knees, his first visit to the United States since 2017.

A State Department statement said Uzra Zeya, the U.S. undersecretary of state for human rights and special coordinator for Tibetan issues, traveled to New York for an audience with the Dalai Lama, joined by the White House director for human rights, Kelly Razzouk.

It said Zeya “conveyed, on behalf of President Biden, best wishes for His Holiness’s good health and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to advancing the human rights of Tibetans and supporting efforts to preserve their distinct historical, linguistic, cultural, and religious heritage.”

Zeya discussed U.S. efforts to address human rights abuses in Tibet and support for a resumption of dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama, the statement said.

A group of U.S. lawmakers met the Dalai Lama in India before his U.S. trip and said they would not allow China to influence the choice of his successor.

Last month, China expressed strong opposition to a U.S. law signed by President Joe Biden that presses Beijing to resolve a dispute over Tibet’s demands for greater autonomy and vowed to “firmly defend” its interests.

The Dalai Lama has met U.S. officials, including U.S. presidents, during previous visits to the U.S., but Biden has not met him since taking office in 2021.

In 2020, Biden criticized then President Donald Trump for being the only president in three decades who had not met or spoken with the Tibetan spiritual leader, calling it “disgraceful.”

Wednesday’s meeting comes at a time when Biden has sought to stabilize rocky ties with China ahead of a presidential election on Nov. 5, in which Vice President Kamala Harris is pitted against Trump.

China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the meeting.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Dalai Lama said on Saturday he is recovering from a knee surgery and feels “physically fit”, brushing aside rumours of ill health on his 89th birthday.

“Recently I had surgery on my knee, which has given me some problem. However, I am recovering and have no problem at all now,” the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism said in a video message from the United States, where he is recuperating.

“There may be people trying to confuse you about my health, saying that the Dalai Lama has gone to a hospital and is undergoing treatments, and so on, making my condition sound grave. You don’t need to trust such misinformation,” he said.

A charismatic figure who popularised Buddhism internationally, the Dalai Lama won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for keeping alive the Tibetan cause in exile. He fled to India in 1959, nine years after China sent troops into the Himalayan region in 1950, saying it was liberating Tibetan “serfs”.

As the spiritual leader ages and battles health problems, the appointment of his successor has become a looming issue for Tibetans struggling for more autonomy in China or outright independence. Tibetan Buddhists believe that learned monastics are reincarnated after death as newborns.

The Dalai Lama has said he will clarify questions about succession – including whether and where he would be reincarnated – around his 90th birthday.

“I am nearly 90 now but I don’t feel unhealthy, except for the slight discomfort in my legs. I would like to thank all my fellow Tibetans in and outside Tibet for your prayers on my birthday,” he said, adding that some issues are part of ageing.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of Buddhists and well-wishers around the world are to gather to celebrate and pray for the long life of a leader who for them represents the strongest hope of an eventual return to Tibet.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dharmashala:

Lord Buddha’s sacred Kapilawasthu relics, situated at a holy temple in Sri Lanka, will be offered to the Dalai Lama on Thursday morning, the office of Dalai Lama said in a statement.

The sacred relics are located at RajaGuru Sri Subuthi Waskaduwa Maha Viharaya, a Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka.

Notably, the Kapilavastu relics hold immense historical and spiritual significance, connecting the devotees to the profound legacy of Lord Buddha.

The Sri Subhuthi Maha Viharaya in Waskaduwa houses 21 relics of the Lord Buddha.

‘Waskaduwe Mahindawamsa Nayaka Thero’ is the custodian of these precious Kapilawasthu relics, which have been preserved and protected for generations till now at Sri Subhuthi Maha Viharaya in Waskaduwa, Sri Lanka.

In February, Dalai Lama, on the occasion of Chotrul Duechen, gave a short general teaching from the Jataka Tales at the Main Tibetan Temple, Tsuglagkhang, in the Himachal Pradesh hill town of Dharamshala, which was attended by over 3000 Tibetan followers, including Buddhist monks, nuns and foreigners from different parts of the world.

Chotrul Duechen is the day of offerings and is celebrated on the 15th day of the 1st Tibetan month. The day, which means Great Day of Miraculous Manifestations,” is one of the four Buddhist festivals commemorating four events in the life of the Buddha.

Earlier in March, the relics of Lord Buddha and those of his two main disciples, Arahant Sariputta and Maha Moggallana, were sent on a 25-day exposition across four cities in Thailand.

The exposition drew a phenomenal response, during which over 4 million devotees from Thailand and other countries in the Mekong region paid homage to the relics.

The revered relics’ exposition, organised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), travelled to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani and Krabi provinces, starting from New Delhi on February 22.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dharamshala:

The Dalai Lama on Saturday congratulated jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi on winning the Nobel Peace Prize and said the award was also in recognition of the vital role women play in people’s lives. Mohammadi, 51, was awarded the prize on Friday in recognition of her tireless campaigning for women’s rights and democracy and against the death penalty.

In a letter to her on Saturday, the Tibetan spiritual leader said, “Today, the values of democracy, transparency, respect for human rights, and equality are increasingly recognised on every side as universal values, which can only benefit us all.”

“I have met and held discussions with previous Nobel laureates, including your sometime colleague, Mrs. Shirin Ebadi. I admire their efforts to overcome discrimination against women and improve society in a peaceful way. I believe that the award of this Nobel Peace Prize is also in recognition of the vital role women play in the lives of us all from the very day we are born,” the Dalai Lama wrote.

He said there is a growing desire for change in the world, a change that will see conflicts resolved through dialogue and non-violence.

“The foundation of such change will be kindness, compassion and human responsibility. I believe that this goal can be achieved through education based on a deeper appreciation of the oneness of humanity. Because we are so interconnected, this is a question of the well-being of us all,” he wrote.