As Buddhist communities all over the world celebrated the 14th Dalai Lama’s 87th birthday on Wednesday. Tibetan Buddhists from across Mumbai held a gathering at Versova, celebrating the monk’s birthday and offering prayers for his long life.
The event was organized by the Menhlai Jamtse Centre in Mumbai, which is a Tibetan Buddhist centre with a monk in residence—the venerable Geshe Lobsang Tenzin.
During his address at the event, Geshe Lobsang Tenzin mentioned the four commitments of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, which are: secular ethics; religious harmony; preserving the Tibetan language, culture, and natural environment of Tibet; and reviving ancient Indian knowledge. "We have to promote secular ethics in our society from the kindergarten level, which can be done without the background of any religious concept. We must also maintain religious harmony by not criticizing other faiths because no religion teaches its devotees to promote hatred against any religion," he added.
"His Holiness has been promoting the cultivation of basic human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment, and self-discipline, which can also be promoted without a specific religious concept," he added.
A member of the community, Ngawang Tenzin, who has been living in Mumbai for the last 15 years, said, "The birthday of the Dalai Lama is a very important and auspicious day for us, and I have been blessed to be a follower of Buddhism, which teaches the concept of peace and harmony. Buddhism is not a religion of blind faith, instead, all its teachings are related to our day-to-day life. And the best way to study this religion is through reading its scriptures in the Tibetan language, which needs to be protected and preserved. "
"The Menhlai Jamtse Centre, located in Andheri, conducts various activities for its community members such as Buddhist philosophy and psychology sessions, meditation and mind training practice sessions, prayer meetings, and celebrations of important Buddhist festivals. It is open to anyone who wishes to be a part of it," Tenzin added.
The Menlhai Jamtse Tibetan Buddhist Centre, Mumbai, was founded by Geshe Lobsang Tenzin in the year 2018. He has dedicated his life to offering his services to provide Buddhist education to the local people, reviving the Nalanda Tradition, and promoting secular human values and inter-religious harmony. This Buddhist centre also helps people to develop mental peace through meditation and mind training.
