His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s majority of travels abroad including the scheduled visits to the United States in 2018 has been cancelled according to a letter from his office. While His Holiness was scheduled to visit North Carolina in the month of April this year, the plan has been shelved for another year, clarifying that it would not be happening this year.
According to the letter sent to Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane, who has invited the Tibetan spiritual in early last year to visit the state by meeting His Holiness in India, the secretary of his office informed that due to change in schedules, he will not be visiting the United States in 2018.
“It is with deep regret that I inform you of a change in His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s schedule, obliging him to cancel the majority of his travels abroad, including the United States of America,” Tenzin Talklha, the Dalai Lama’s secretary, said in the letter.
While not denying any possibility for His Holiness to visit United States in 2019, the secretary added “We understand that there are many plans already in place to support Raleigh’s Compassionate City designation, and His Holiness looks very much forward to support these wonderful initiatives.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama had earlier too while speaking to the press at the Dharamshala airport, he told of increasing exhaustion in making long distance journeys and he may not be able to travel abroad. His Holiness also appointed the former head of Tibetan government in exile, Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche and President Dr. Lobsang Sangay as his trusted personal emissaries to speak on behalf of him at international forums.
Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane in reply to the letter, despite the change in schedule, she promised to continue to promote the fundamental principles that His Holiness have championed while also expressing he hope in a future visit from His Holiness.
“We remain hopeful you will grace us with your presence at a future date and are committed to making such a visit an enriching experience with lasting benefits,” she wrote on Tuesday evening.
Leave a Reply