Dalai Lama gives 'Diksha' to 8,000 Buddhist monks

Varanasi, Dec 21: Buddhist spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave 'Diksha' (prized blessings) to nearly 8,000 young Buddhist monks at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS) here this morning.

On the penultimate day of his six-day spiritual trip to Varanasi, the 71-year-old Nobel laureate performed 'Aviloketeshwar Abhishek/Diksha' to young Buddhist monks at the special Kalchak Mandap on the CIHTS campus, CIHTS officials said.

The monks who were given the treasured 'Diksha' hailed from across the globe including Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, China, France and United Kingdom.

After the prized 'Diksha,' the Dalai Lama performed religious discourse on the sacred Buddhist scripture at the same Mandap.

UNI