His Holiness the Dalai Lama attending a session of the Mani Dhungdrub at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamshala, HP, India on 1 June 2025. Photo by Tenzin Choejor

Dharamshala: Today (on 1 June 2025), under a clear blue sky, and while the early morning temperature was still mild, His Holiness the Dalai Lama rode in an electric golfcart from his residence to the Tsuglagkhang, the Main Tibetan Temple. There he joined an estimated 4000 people, monks, nuns, laymen and women in reciting the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the Compassionate One, following a ritual known in Tibetan as Mani Dhungdrup. The congregation have been collecting ‘mani’ mantras for the last five days, since the first day of Saga Dawa, the month that commemorates the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha. His Holiness took his seat facing the statue of the Buddha and that of Chenrezig Wati Sangpo. To his right sat the Abbot of Namgyal Monastery, Thamtog Rinpoché.

His Holiness presided over a ritual that followed the ‘Manual for Preparing Mani Pills’ compiled by Serkhong Tsenshab Rinpoché. It began with taking refuge in the Three Jewels, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, generating the awakening mind and the...