His Holiness completes teachings in Melbourne, leaves for Canberra[Tuesday, 14 June 2011, 9:07 a.m.]
MELBOURNE:
His Holiness the Dalai Lama concluded his teachings on Bodhisattva’s
Way of Life in Melbourne yesterday. Over the last three days, around
4,500 people attended the teachings. For the first time in Australia,
His Holiness’ teachings were streamed live on the web. An astonishing
32,000 people watched the teachings live online. 6,000 people attended
the public conversation on Saturday, with another 5,000 watching live
on a giant screen at Federation Square in the heart of city.His
Holiness began the final day of teachings by recapping some fundamental
Buddhist concepts including the Four Noble Truths, the law of causality
and interconnectedness. He then led the audience through a Bodhisattva
vow and encouraged people to repeat the vow as part of their daily
practice.With great detail and clarity, His Holiness covered
chapters 2 (Disclosure of Wrongdoing), 3 (Full Acceptance of the
Awakening Mind), 6 (Patience), 7 (Enthusiasm) and 8 (Meditation). His
Holiness then concluded with a series of questions and answers from an
enthusiastic audience.Furthering his engagement with
Australia’s Chinese community, His Holiness made time to do an
interview with SBS Mandarin Service.After a short flight late
in the afternoon, His Holiness arrived in Canberra and was welcomed on
the tarmac by a senior representative of the Indian High Commission.
Members of the 70-strong local Tibetan community greeted him on his
arrival at the hotel.His Holiness will have a busy schedule of
high-profile events in the nation’s capital tomorrow. He will be
meeting members of all Australia’s major political parties at a
parliamentary reception to be held in his honour. Later there will be
another sold-over public conversation.–Report filed by Tsering Kyinzom Dhongdue
