Scores of Buddhists gather in support of Dalai Lama in Shimla

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhist Associations here on Saturday evening organised a peace rally to express solidarity with the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama following the controversy over his viral video for which he has apologised.

They blamed China for trying to tarnish the image of the 14th Dalai Lama.

The associations which took part in the peace rally included Himalayan Buddhist Associations Lahaul and Spiti, Buddha Sewa Sangh Shimla, Kinnaur Students Welfare Association Shimla, Lahaul-Spiti Students Welfare Association Shimla, Indo Tibetan Friendship Society Shimla, Bharat Tibet Samanvay Sangh Shimla, Regional Tibetan Women Association Shimla and Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Shimla.

Holding placards, banners, posters and Tibetan National flags, a large number of Buddhist monks, youths, children and elders took part in the rally raising slogans and chanting Buddhist mantras and offering long-life wishes for Dalai Lama.

“The video which was brought into the media was of the 28th of February and the video which went viral is not original and it is a completely edited video. And the question that we want to ask is about the timing of the video. Why was it released after one month and after a week of the enthronement of the Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche, the highest Buddhist leader of Geluk pa school in Magnolia,” asked Sonam Dolkar, organizer and member of Regional Tibetan Women Association.

After the Dalai Lama’s video of purportedly kissing a boy went viral, Tibetan leaders and activists from across the globe have expressed their solidarity and support for him.
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“Just after one week of his enthronement, intentionally in social media, if His Holiness has uttered any such sexiest remark as it shows then why did not the family and the mother of the child not even show any resentment? If it would have been the same they would have filed a case by now. We are holding a peace rally and want the others to stop who is spreading it and trying to tarnish Dalai Lam’s image too. You are trying to do it to a person who is above human beings and has been preaching and spreading peace around the world for the past 87 years. We around 5 to 7 organizations have gathered here not to protest but to tell the public and media to know the truth of the video and that is why we are doing it,” she added.

The Buddhists in the Himalayan region here want everyone to support the world peace promoter and defend him., she said.

“This peace rally is in support of the 14th Dalai Lama, during the past few days there has been a constant of videos with an attempt to defame Dalai Lama and spread a video to malign his image. Through this peaceful protest, we want everyone to come and support His Holiness and also show the reality, we also want those media houses also to spread the reality,” said Manjeet Negi, a Himalayan Buddhist from Kinnaur.

The Tibetan Buddhist monks take this as a threat to the Buddhist religion as they believe that this all is being done to tarnish the image of the Dalai Lama, he added. (ET)