His Holiness second visit to Ladakh

Mountain ridge in Ladakh with old stupasH.H. Drikung Kyabgön Rinpoche arrived in Leh, Ladakh, on August 8, 2009. The main purpose of his second visit this year was to attend the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies in Choglamsar. Prior to this event H.H. traveled and taught in various villages in west Ladakh and the Drogpa area. In particular he paid a visit to one monk school and one public school. The latter one is sponsored by the Swedish Tibetan Society for School and Culture.

On August 21, Kyabgön Rinpoche attended together with H.H. the Dalai Lama the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies in Choglamsar.

The Dalai Lama with Drikung Chetsang RinpocheThe opening ceremony of the new modern buildings was attended by various scholars such as Changtse Chöje Sa Rinpoche, local officials, a large group of the ordained sangha and general public. H.H. the Dalai Lama opened the new complex by lightening a lamp and giving a speech. Furthermore the 1500 monks and nuns received a gift of new robes from the Institute. A rich cultural program of folk dances and songs framed the whole event.

Following the ceremony, a four day teaching given by H.H. the Dalai Lama started on August 22 in Choglamsar. There H.H. Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche attended the Akshobhya initiation.

His Holiness with Yeshe Jamyang and thangka art studentThangka master art painter Yeshe JamyangOn August 25, H.H. Chetsang Rinpoche invited the 87 year-old Thangka art master Ven. Yeshe Jamyang in his residence in Phyang monastery. Yeshe Jamyang is the unique holder of the rare technique of natural mineral pigment painting in the Drikung tradition, which he studied in Tibet in his young age. Even at that time this technique was very rarely applied. In order to preserve this precious Drikung tradition of mineral pigment painting, Kyabgön Rinpoche invited a young monk from Dehradun to study with Yeshe Jamyang. The special mineral pigments were brought from a particular geological area in Tibet. During the painting process His Holiness wrote down the secret instructions of this technique.

On August 31, His Holiness returned to Dehra Dun to work on the completion of his book on the history of the early Tibetan empire. This book is a compilation of the Dunhuang documents, which roughly cover the period from 345 BCE to 847 CE.
 
Joomla 1.5 Templates by JoomlaShine.com