Dalai Lama has arrived to Sarnath

His Holliness the 14th Dalai Lama has arrived in Sarnath on Monday.
From Buddhist monks to common people including women and children, a large number of Tibetans queued up along the road leading to the Central University of Tibetan Studies (CUTS), Sarnath, to have a glimpse of His Holiness.

The Dalai Lama was accorded a ceremonial welcome in Tibetan style at the CUTS. A group of Tibetans played on traditional instrument 'Gyaling Raktum' on his arrival while a number of monks and other distinguished persons, including vice-chancellor Ngawang Samten, offered traditional 'Khata' (stole) to him.

Thousands of Tibetans from across the world assembled in Sarnath to see the Dalami Lama and listen to his teachings during his nine-day stay. The crowd is expected to reach 100 000 people. A number of temporary shops of a variety of articles also came into existence along the road. The few hotels in Sarnath are full, and the weather conditions won't allow to set up many tents, like when the Dalai Lama came to Bodhgaya in 2009.

During his stay the Dalai Lama will take part in the valedictory function of the four-day 'Tenggyur Translation Conference: In the tradition of the 17 Pandits of Nalanda', organised by the CUTS and American Institute of Buddhist Studies at Columbia University. He will deliver his teachings to Buddhist followers from January 12 to 17. He will leave on January 19. The teachings will be aired live, so that they can be caught on FM radio.

Sarnath, where Buddha delivered his first sermon, has always been one of the favoured destinations of the Dalai Lama. He has been regularly visiting the CUTS.

The institution, a centre of higher education for the Tibetans, holds a special importance for the Dalai Lama. In 1959 a mass exodus of the Tibetan emigrants left their country and took political asylum in India. Under joint efforts of the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso and India's then prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru the CIHTS was established in 1967 to educate the youth of Tibet and the students on the Indian border, who had to leave Tibet and could not continue education in Buddhism there.

from The Times of India and online sources