Dalai Lama greets people on Tibetan New Year

Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh), Feb 6: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Saturday greeted people on the occasion of Losar, the Tibetan New Year, and passed on information about his health. Speaking from a hospital in the US where he’s undergoing precautionary prostate treatment, the Dalai Lama offered a video message on the occasion of fortnight-long Losar, beginning February 8.

Assuring his friends and followers that he’s in good health, the Buddhist monk said: “I want to tell you that I am doing very well. The treatment only takes a few minutes every day, but it will take time to complete the treatment. It’s nothing complicated, it’s not serious, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Wishing all ‘Losar tashi delek’ (Tibetan greeting on Losar), the Nobel Peace Laureate requested that all “please try to live up to what it means”. The Losar festival marks sacred and secular practices like prayers, ceremonies, rituals and folk dancing and merrymaking.

The Dalai Lama has undergone treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for a prostate problem, his office here said. Revered as a spiritual leader across the world, he favours “greater autonomy” for people in Tibet rather than complete independence. Chinese leaders have, in fact, called him a separatist — one who wants Tibet to secede from China.

The Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland Tibet in 1959. The Tibetan administration-in-exile is based here. (IANS)