Crowd Greets Dalai Lama in Mongolia
(by Audra Ang | AP | Mongolia | November 5, 2002)
Crowd Greets Dalai Lama in Mongolia
(by Audra Ang | AP | Mongolia | November 5, 2002)
Greeted by adoring throngs and serenaded by cymbals and horns, the
Dalai Lama met with monks at Mongolia's largest Buddhist monastery
Tuesday, kicking off his first visit to the northeast Asian nation
in seven years.
Temperatures dropped to 5 degrees below zero as the leader of
Tibetan Buddhism, wearing his traditional robe with one arm bare
to the chill wind, made his way through Gandantegchillen Monastery
in the Mongolian capital.
"We believe that the Dalai Lama is the Buddha. I am very happy
and excited to be here," said Ananda, 19, a young man who uses
only one name. He traveled from Russia this week to see the
spectacle. Hundreds of Mongolians, their faces bundled in fur against
the cold, jostled and held up cameras in hopes of a glimpse of the
Dalai Lama. When he arrived, he strode along a multicolored carpet
flanked by legions of monks from the monastery, known commonly by
its shorter name, Gandan.
Other monks prostrated in his path as he walked forward, shielded
from the wind by a yellow silk umbrella and a hat. Horns blew,
cymbals clanged and drums beat as he made his way toward a private
meeting in the monastery. "He is the Buddha of compassion," said
Lhawang, a Tibetan monk who teaches at the monastery and has seen
the Dalai Lama nine times. "I feel so strongly, I cry every time."
Both Tibetans and Mongolians follow the tantric school of Buddhism,
which recognizes the Dalai Lama as a high spiritual authority. A
16th-century Mongol king is thought to have bestowed the first Dalai
Lama title -- a designation that means "Ocean of Wisdom." "It is
cold on the street, but I feel warm inside because I'm going to
see my great teacher," said Thubten Choenyi, a Buddhist nun who
was waiting outside the airport. "I have been praying day and night
since I heard he was coming."
Mongolia shares strong religious ties to Tibet and has been
rediscovering its Buddhist heritage since the end of communist rule
in 1990. Some 90 percent of Mongolia's 2.4 million people consider
themselves Buddhists.
The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, has visited Mongolia
five times, most recently in 1995. He had planned to come in
September, but was blocked when Russia and South Korea refused him
transit visas, possibly to avoid angering China. There are no direct
flights to Mongolia from India.
Late Monday night, the Dalai Lama arrived in Mongolia and was greeted
by hundreds of maroon-robed monks and members of the faithful who
thronged the airport.
The 12-mile route from the Ulan Bator airport to the capital city
was lined with police, and some 200 to 300 officers stood guard at
the airport.
The visit seemed likely to draw angry protests from China, which
regards the Dalai Lama as a political schemer bent on ending Chinese
rule in Tibet.
Chinese communist forces occupied Tibet in 1951 and Beijing says the
Himalayan region has been Chinese territory for centuries. The Dalai
Lama fled into exile in India after a failed uprising in 1959 and
travels frequently to conduct Buddhist ceremonies and seek support
for his campaign for Tibetan political and cultural rights.
|
