Memento of Gratitude being presented to His Holiness
More than six thousand Tibetans and supporters gathered at the Main Tibetan Temple courtyard today to mark the seventy fifth anniversary of the day the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, then just fifteen years old, assumed full spiritual and temporal responsibility for the Tibetan nation. The ceremony, held as part of the Year of Compassion celebrating His Holinesss ninetieth birthday year, was a profound expression of gratitude for his seventy five years of selfless service to Tibet and to humanity.
The event began with His Holiness being received at the gate of his residence by the Chief Guest Dr Eliska Zigova, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to India, Sikyong Penpa Tsering President of the Central Tibetan Administration, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, and Chief Justice Commissioner Yeshi Wangmo. Traditional Tibetan performers welcomed him with song and dance as he proceeded to his seat beneath the temple.
After the Tibetan and Indian national anthems were performed, representatives of former students from Central Schools for Tibetans, Tibetan Childrens Village, Tibetan Homes Foundation Mussoorie, and Tibetan schools in India and Nepal offered mandala and two exquisite statues of Avalokiteshvara Khasarpani to His Holiness.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering then read the official Kashag statement, recalling Tibets long history as an independent nation from the time of Emperor Nyatri Tsenpo in the third century BCE through the era of the Three Dharma Kings, when Tibetan imperial power reached as far as the Chinese capital Changan present day Xian. He traced the priest patron relationships with Mongol, Ming, and Manchu rulers, and recounted the invasions and aggressions Tibet faced in the twentieth century, culminating in the Chinese Communist invasion of Kham and Amdo and the fall of Chamdo in 1950.
It was in that moment of existential crisis that the Tibetan people, through their State Oracle and senior officials, beseeched the young Dalai Lama to take full political and spiritual authority. On 17 November 1950 he accepted the burden that would define his life.
For the next nine years His Holiness sought to protect Tibetan lives and culture within the framework of the coerced Seventeen Point Agreement. When peaceful efforts failed and Chinese repression intensified, he was forced to flee to India in March 1959. Upon reaching safety he immediately declared the Seventeen Point Agreement null and void.
In exile His Holiness initiated democratic reforms, established a government in exile, rebuilt monasteries and nunneries, and created a modern education system that preserved Tibetan language religion and culture while providing contemporary knowledge. The results were visible today in the thousands of alumni who returned to express their gratitude.
Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel praised His Holinesss lifelong commitment to dialogue, noting the nine rounds of talks held with Chinese authorities and appealing to Beijing to resolve the Tibet issue during His Holinesss lifetime.
Tibet’s future.
Tashi Namgyal, Chairman of the ex Students Organizing Committee, movingly described how His Holiness personally funded the first Tibetan school in Mussoorie from his own resources and supported the establishment of Tibetan Childrens Village for orphaned refugee children. Thanks to His Holinesss vision, he said, Tibetan exile children achieved near total literacy and grew into responsible citizens who continue to serve the community and keep Tibetan culture alive.
A specially commissioned memento, golden hands supporting an open book illuminated by the lamp of wisdom, was presented to His Holiness, followed by a heartfelt song of gratitude composed and performed by former students.
Chief Guest Ambassador Dr Eliska Zigova delivered a powerful address linking the significance of 17 November in both Tibetan and Czech history. Seventeen November is sacred for us too, she said. It was the day in 1989 when the Velvet Revolution began and communist rule ended in Czechoslovakia. Vaclav Havel, our first freely elected president, immediately invited His Holiness because he recognized true moral leadership.
The Ambassador continued that today we see three generations of Tibetans in exile still speaking fluent Tibetan, still educated in their own culture while excelling in the modern world. This, she said, is living proof of His Holinesss extraordinary leadership. He is not only Tibets leader, he is our leader too, because his message of compassion belongs to all humanity.
Dr Zigova concluded by launching the new book Tibets History and the Legacy of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama by Losang Jinpa Nampheltsang.
As His Holiness departed, smiling and blessing the crowd, the celebrations continued with traditional song and dance, a vivid testament to the unbreakable spirit of the Tibetan people under his guidance.
Seventy five years after a fifteen year old boy accepted the weight of a nation on his shoulders, the Tibetan people remain resolute in their devotion to non violence, their commitment to genuine autonomy through the Middle Way Approach, and their unwavering loyalty to their beloved leader.
May His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama live for a hundred aeons, and may the just cause of Tibet be realised in his lifetime.