Dalai Lama's Bodh Gaya Visit Ends. Here Are Top 5 Quotes By The Tibetan Spiritual Leader

Several monks and devotees thronged Kalachakra Ground in Bihar’s Bodh Gaya where the three-day special teaching event came to an end on Sunday.

New Delhi: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was in Bodh Gaya on his annual retreat after a gap pf two years.

He came to the Tibetan monastery for a three-day visit, where he appealed to the people to take a collective stand against weapons of mass destruction and also launched a sharp attack on China’s moves to eliminate Buddhism.

Here are the top five quotes by the spiritual leader:

• Appealing to the people across the world to “collectively” take a stand against these weapons of mass destruction, the Dalai Lama said, “I could see, first hand, the massive destruction the bomb had caused….. many countries in the world have developed nuclear weapons but at the same time there are people who are opposed to these”.


• The Dalai Lama also expressed his concern about the COVID pandemic, recalling that it originated in “China but spread to India and other parts of the world”. “The pandemic is quite serious. It gives anxiety to people. We offer our prayers so that it subsides,” he said.


• Dalai Lama on Saturday that he has deep confidence in Buddha's dharma and that when he visits trans-Himalayan regions, he finds local people devoted to dharma. He said that it is also the case in Mongolia and China, where the system attempts to view dharma as poison and seeks to destroy it.


• “Those who are showing faith in me as well as faith in Buddhism, must accept the Bodhicitta (spiritual awakening) that I am imparting. Be it Tibetan or Mongolian or China, there are many Buddhist monasteries in China. I have been to China many times. Many Buddha Viharas exist there even today. People have Buddhism and Buddha in their minds. There is a lot of attachment towards Buddhism. The Chinese have an ancient relationship with Buddhism,” he said.


• The Dalai Lama also extended new year’s greetings to the monks and devotees who thronged the monastery on Sunday. Speaking to news agency ANI, Dalai Lama’s Hindi translator, Kailash Sonbodh said, “Today is the new year and all Buddhists are offering prayers for long life. He gave best wishes to the people living here and around the world. He said that his health is well and that he would live till 115 to 120 years of age. He gave best wishes to the people, be it from China or elsewhere. He said that change is taking place and things are changing, and the situation will get better.”