July 6 - Birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Today, July 6, the spiritual leader of the world's Buddhists, Nobel Peace Prize laureate His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama turned 86. On this day, festive events were held at the Central Khurul of Kalmykia “The Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni”.

At 8 a.m., the “Sangso” ritual - a ritual of offering incense to the deities - was held on the grounds of the Central Khurul. At 9:00, a ceremony took place to carry out the portrait of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama from the residence and place it on the throne in the Dugan (prayer hall), after which the monks of the Central Khurul of Kalmykia “The Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni” conducted a festive prayer service led by the Shajin Lama of Kalmykia Telo Tulku Rinpoche.

“Today the Dalai Lama turns 86, and at such a venerable age he continues to promote around the world such values as kindness, love and compassion toward all living beings, and we are grateful to him for this,” Telo Tulku Rinpoche said.

“Today I would also like to sincerely thank His Holiness for his attention to Russian Buddhists, and I am confident that the hour is not far off when we will again be able to meet with our spiritual leader. Since 2009, we have had the exclusive opportunity to receive the Teaching from the lips of His Holiness. Beginning in 2014, the Teachings and meetings with His Holiness began to be held in the Baltics, in Latvia, and I believe it is very good for practicing Buddhists to receive the Teaching from him, to listen to his lectures and instructions,” the Shajin Lama of Kalmykia added.

At the conclusion of the prayer service, all those present were treated to tea and bortsyki, and everyone was also given pieces of cakes that were baked especially for this day.

The monks advise that on this day one should light lamps and offer prayers for the health and long life of the 14th Dalai Lama, as well as recite the mantra OM MA NI PAD ME HUM at least 1000 times. Also, as part of the “Thank You Dalai Lama” campaign, which was launched in July 2020, we call on everyone to place an image of a burning lamp (“Zul”) on their pages on social media.