An auspicious day for alms giving:

Since yesterday, hundreds of beggars from all over the region have gathered on the little path surrounding the hill of the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Today is the full moon marking the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and the anniversary of his death. Traditionally, it is a very auspicious day for alms giving… Hundreds of Tibetans will walk the 30 min or so tour around the hill, turn prayer wheels, recite the mantra OM MANI PADME HUNG and distribute a few coins to their less fortunate visitors.

At the same time, in the Namgyal Temple, the ritual of confering blessings on the “mani pills” goes on…

Blessings on millions of "mani pills":

Very early this morning, hundreds of Tibetan lamas, monks, nuns and lay people gathered in the Namgyal temple to start a 7-day annual ritual aimed to confer blessings on millions of tiny precious "mani pills". Highly treasured as pills that liberate from sufferings those who come into contact with them, the “mani pills” will be distributed by monks to people all around the year on various occasions. In this ceremony, the practitioners, together, will pray Avalokiteshvara (the Buddha of Compassion) and recite his mantra, OM MANI PADME HUNG (called the mani) millions of times….
If you want to take part in the blessings, you can recite the mantra OM MANI PADME HUNG as many times as you can during the next 7 days…it will pacify your thoughts, and fill your mind with feelings of peace and joy. Try it !
This annual ritual takes place around the full moon of April or May. This is an important Buddhist festival that commemorates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death.

The blessings of the Dalai Lama:
For the last 10 days, every morning shortly before 8 am, hundreds of Tibetans and a couple of Westerners like us, as well as a few Indian tourists have the privilege to greet His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Holding the right hand of His Holiness the Karmapa and the left hand of His Eminence Sakya Trinzin, like a father with his two sons, surrounded by a dozen of Tibetan Lamas, the Dalai Lama walks from the gate of his residence to the Namgyal Temple. The love and compassion of this incredibly great being irradiates the whole compound and fills the heart of all of us with infinite joy…This morning, His Holiness as he did his walk stopped a couple of seconds to greet and comfort a very old Tibetan woman causing some anxious moments for his security guards…

For security reasons, cameras and phones are not allowed on the compound. But we show you a picture of the Namgyal Temple, the very place where every morning since the 19th May, His Holiness gives a commentary on the Guhyasamaja Tantra to hundreds of Tibetan monks, nuns, lay people and a couple of Westerners...Today is the last day.