The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama was scheduled to fly from Varanasi to Bodh Gaya on January 1 but due to poor visibility, he made the journey by road. His Holiness was originally scheduled to reach at his Bodh Gaya address in the afternoon of Monday but due to change in plans, he arrived there late in the evening, around 5 hours late.
“Poor visibility at the Gaya airport forced Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to skip the seven seater special plane waiting at the Varanasi airport to fly to Bodh Gaya. The Nobel peace prize recipient instead took road route to reach the Tibetan monastery, his Bodh Gaya address late on Monday evening about five hours behind his scheduled arrival in the afternoon.” said the report in Times of India.
Before setting of to Bodh Gaya for a month long stay in the Bihar district where he is being awaited by thousands of devotees to seek his teachings, His Holiness the Dalai Lama participated in the Golden Jubilee celebration of Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies. His Holiness delivered a short message to the gathering after the speakers including the Vice Chancellor, President Lobsang Sangay and others made their statements. Following is an excerpt of the His Holiness’s message:
“Today happens to be the first day of 2018 and although the date is only a human convention, it prompts us to think about how we use our time. We should approach the New Year in a fresh spirit, not just carrying on as before. We should change. A new year offers a new opportunity. Recognizing this is something only human beings can do, because of our intelligence. We need to come up with a fresh response to changing times.
Another important point, since this is a center of learning, is to take the opportunity to shake up our brains without getting fixated on a single point of view. We must take different angles into account. We need to combine the skillful means of intelligence with the warm heart of compassion.
I don’t have much to say. We are all traveling through time with its years, months and days. But when you look back from this point at the beginning of 2019 will you do so with a sense that you used the year well? Or will you have a sense of regret? Better to prepare to use the year in a meaningful way so that when you look back on it, it will be without regret but with satisfaction. Make a determination to live a good life—the ripple effect will spread out from you through your family, your community and your country. This is how real positive change takes place, a transformation that starts within spreads outwards. Thank you.”
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