-Filed by Department of Religion and Culture
Dharamshala: The Department of Religion and Culture of Central Tibetan Administration successfully completed the distribution of 276 statues of Lord Buddha and Tonpa Shenrab, founder of Bon religion, to all Tibetan monasteries and nunneries across India, Nepal and Bhutan.
President Dr Lobsang Sangay and members of Kalon presented the Buddha statues-measuring two feet-to monastic representatives during a ceremony held on 31 December in Bodh Gaya. The 276 statues were blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and consecrated by monks of Namgyal Monastery at Gaden Phelgyeling, Bodhgaya.
The offering of statues was part of the Tenshug offering made by the Central Tibetan Administration for the long and healthy life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Since this year is considered as the portentous critical year ༼དགུང་ཀེག༽ of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Department of Religion and Culture has been undertaking various activities such as accumulating prayers in accordance with advice from spiritual heads of Tibetan Buddhism and state oracle, providing special salary to temple caretakers for a year and distributing Buddha statues to monastic institutions in order to remove all kind of obstacles during the portentous critical year.
Detail list of monasteries and nunneries are available here.