The Dalai Lama sits with Martin Luther King III at his 76th birthday party at the Verizon Center in Washington Wednesday. Thousands of devotees filled the stands to celebrate with him. (A translator is seated far left.) Photo: Gillian Brockell
WASHINGTON—The Dalai Lama celebrated his 76th birthday Wednesday with thousands of devotees at the Verizon Center in Washington. The celebration kicks off 10 days of teaching, meditation and ceremonies to promote world peace.
Joining the Dalai Lama onstage were Martin Luther King III and Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. The Tibetan spiritual leader said he is inspired by the nonviolent activists and was honored to share the day with the younger King and Gandhi.
“As a Buddhist monk, I believe every day is a new day, a birthday,” he said.
After the celebration, devotees streamed out of the Verizon Center, where the Washington Capitals hockey team plays, for a trungkar (birthday) parade to the National Mall, where Tibetan devotees of all ages danced and sang in traditional attire.
On Thursday, the Dalai Lama will begin teaching the Kalachakra empowerment ritual, which Tibetan Buddhists believe will inspire “harmonious relationships and abiding peace in the hearts of all the people of the world,” a spokesman said. Followers said the Kalachakra can also bring inner peace and predictions for the future.
Crowds of Tibetan Buddhists perform traditional songs and dances in the Mall in Washington after a trungkar (birthday) parade down 7th Street. Photo: Gillian Brockell
Chimey Lama traveled to Washington from Nepal with her daughter, Lhagbu, for the teaching, which she hoped would bring her inner calm.
Musician Phil Void came from Woodstock, N.Y., to see the Dalai Lama. He played folk songs he had written about the spiritual leader in the Mall and encouraged passersby to sing along.
Monks began their preparations for the ancient ceremony Tuesday night with the creation of a sand mandala—intricate patterns created by pouring colored sand on the ground. Mandalas often take a week or more to create, but teams of monks will work in shifts around the clock to complete it half the time. The Kalachakra mandala, which depicts 722 deities, will be destroyed at the end of empowerment to symbolize the impermanence of life.
The Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders will hold daily prayers and teachings for ticketholders, many of whom are paying top dollar to be part of the event. But he will deliver a public sermon Saturday morning on the West Lawn of the Capitol, where tens of thousands of followers are expected to attend. Talk-show host Whoopi Goldberg will emcee the event, and musician Skylar Grey will perform.
The visit to the U.S. marks the first major public appearance for the Dalai Lama since he stepped down earlier this year as the political leader-in-exile of Tibet.