-Sourced by dalailama.com

Tibetan artists performing as His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrives at the Main Tibetan Temple courtyard to attend a Long Life Offering ceremony in Dharamshala, HP, India on 4 June 2025. Photo by Tenzin Choejor

Dharamshala: This morning, the Tsuglagkhang, the Main Tibetan Temple, was decorated with marigold garlands and the courtyard crisscrossed with lines of Tibetan and Buddhist flags. These were part of the ceremony for offering prayers for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s long life. The patrons on this occasion were former students of the Central School for Tibetans (CST) Darjeeling, the Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey (TCNYNJ) and the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM).

Led by the sound of horns, drums and singers, His Holiness drove up the aisle through the courtyard in a golfcart happily returning greetings from well-wishers on either side. At the temple balcony he stopped to survey members of the estimated 5500 strong crowd and wave to them.

In the temple His Holiness took his seat on the throne and the prayers began. These were presided over by Ven Samdhong Rinpoché, flanked to the right by Keutsang Rinpoché and t...