Welcome to His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The purpose of our life is not just to obtain happiness and solve problems for ourselves alone; its main purpose is to free all sentient beings from every suffering and lead them to all happiness, especially the ultimate happiness of full enlightenment. This is not only the purpose of our lives; it is our responsibility.

If this is our responsibility, do we have the ability to help others find freedom from suffering and attain all happiness? Yes, we do. First, our minds have buddha nature; second, we have achieved the perfect human rebirth, this precious human body qualified by eight freedoms and ten richnesses.

Buddha nature is the mind’s capacity to bring all happiness, temporal or ultimate, to all sentient beings and ourselves. Our perfect human rebirth gives us every opportunity to develop our buddha nature to its ultimate potential.

Freeing all sentient beings from suffering and bringing them all happiness means liberating them from the root cause of suffering—the ignorance that abides in their mental continuum, the wrong conception of the self-existent I.

The only way we can do this is by revealing the true path—the teachings that explain the difference between reality and illusion: the teachings on the two truths, ultimate and conventional. This means leading them to listen to and reflect and meditate on the teachings that explain ultimate nature, the right view of reality. By practicing in this way, sentient beings can then sever the root of suffering—ignorance of the ultimate nature of the I and the aggregates.

Thus they can cease all their delusions and karma, including their imprints; put a permanent end to their beginningless suffering, the cycle of aging, sickness, death and rebirth in the six realms; and achieve the everlasting happiness of nirvana, the state beyond sorrow. After that, they can then gradually eradicate the subtle obscurations to omniscience and attain the peerless state of fully enlightened buddhahood, the great nirvana.

In order to be able to help sentient beings in this way, we ourselves have to actualize all these paths, in particular, renunciation, bodhicitta and the right view of emptiness. That means we have to listen to teaching from a fully qualified teacher, such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Therefore, it gives me great pleasure to once again welcome the Buddha of Compassion, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to New Delhi for Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre’s 2004 Dharma Celebration.

Words of Thanks and praise for His holiness the dalai lama 

Myself and those of us here today, who are ordinary beings, whose minds are filled with delusion, ignorance, anger, and attachment, so that we cannot even see Guru Shakyamuni in the aspect of Buddha, Avalokiteshvara in the aspect of deity, we see their manifestation in human form because of your Holiness’s limitless, immeasurable compassion.

Just by seeing your holy body and being in your presence, we are able to receive blessings and purify so many of our defilements and negative karma. No words can express your kindness—even just for this.

Especially, we are able to hear your holy speech, granting the foundation or heart of the vast teachings of the Buddha, the most practical advice on how to live a better life, to not harm others, and to use this life only to bring happiness, as well as everlasting happiness, to others.

Definitely, your Holiness has planted the seed of nirvana, great enlightenment, within all of us. Today your Holiness has made our lives so fortunate and precious. Even if we were able to offer billions of dollars and jewels filling entire universes for eons, it would not finish repaying your Holiness’s kindness.

Your Holiness is also the source of the peace and happiness of all living beings, equaling the limitless sky, particularly in this world, working every second for this, no matter how much hardship there is.

Our Guru-ji, Lama Yeshe, the founder of this organization, the FPMT, and Tushita Meditation Centre here in Delhi, started this center and the yearly Dharma Celebration with the intention to hand back the Buddha Dharma to the people of India by requesting His Holiness [to teach].

Tibetan Buddhism came from the Arya land of India. It has been preserved and practiced by the Tibetan people. Like stars in the sky, so many Tibetan meditators became bodhisattvas and achieved enlightenment.

Even though it has been a long time since the complete form of Buddhism: the lesser vehicle, greater vehicle, and secret mantra Vajrayana, have been in India—after the six ornament Pandits there have not been such great beings—it still exists in its entirety in this world in the hearts of the Tibetan people, it did not degenerate. The whole of Buddhism entirely exists in this world by the kindness of Tibetan people and the root, His Holiness—Avalokiteshvara.

So many educated people all over the world are finding understanding of the words and meaning of Buddhism, bringing much peace and happiness in their lives, giving meaning to their lives. This is all by the kindness of the Tibetan people and the root, His Holiness—Avalokiteshvara.

It is time that the people of the motherland of India take back Buddhism, practice it, bring peace and happiness in this world, and achieve enlightenment.

I request myself, and on behalf of all here, for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is the source of happiness of all living beings equaling the limitless sky and particularly in this world, to have a stable life for many eons and for all your holy wishes to quickly succeed.

And definitely may we have the good fortune to continuously receive teachings in the Tushita Dharma Celebration in all future years.

I would like to thank everyone for coming today, particularly all those who made it possible, especially the organizers of Tushita, director Dr. Renuka Singh and spiritual coordinator Venerable Yeshe, and all the students and benefactors.