6th July in Korea, Bhutan
Dharamshala, 21 July 2005– Live exhibition of the construction of the intricate Sand Mandala was the icing on the cake of the celebration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 70th birthday in Seoul. A continuous stream of hundreds of monks and lay people thronged the week-long exhibition sponsored by Hyundai Bulkyu Media Centre (HBMC).
The representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Japan & East Asia, Chope Paljor Tsering, visited Korea to attend the celebration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 70th Birth Anniversary from 14-19 July.
HBMC, one of the major publishers of Buddhist papers in Korea, sponsored the organisation of a live exhibition of the construction of Sand-Mandala at the Buddhist gallery in the centre of Seoul city. Ven. Kim Bob-jang, president of the Chogye Order, the largest Buddhist order in Korea, inaugurated the exhibition before the audience of about hundred monks and lay people. Dignitaries from prominent Buddhist orders like Jingak Order, National Treasure Sect, etc, also attended the ceremony.
Rev. Chongwol Sunim, director of the HBMC, a supporter of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, had earlier offered to provide an office to the Tokyo-based Office of Tibet in Seoul, which Mr. Chope graciously accepted this time.
The representative and the two Gyuto monks also visited Haeinsa, one of the three most important monasteries in Korea with both Sutra and Vinaya schools, where young students from the prominent monasteries in Korea come to study.
Gu-Ryongsa monastery and Il San Buddhist Senior Welfare Centre also agreed to sponsor three Tibetan monks and two nuns in their centres to study Korean language and Buddhism.
The tremendous interest shown by the Korean people in the events marking the birthday of His Holiness, Mr Chope said, indicates that the relations between the Tibetan and Korean people is bound to deepen and prosper.
Bhutan
The 6th July in Bhutan was a green day as over 500 trees were planted by four Tibetan settlements–Jigme-nang, Longtso, Khasa and Karche –while in other places, people held incense burning ceremonies to mark the occasion of the 70th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.