Dalai Lama gives sermon at Nyingma Monastery in Manali

Manali, Aug.22 (ANI): Hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist monks and devotees participated in a religious congregation addressed by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama here on Sunday.

The participants included foreign tourists.

The Dalai Lama imparted the teachings on Avlokiteshavara Abhishek.

This special sermon was held at the Nyingma Monastery under the auspices of the Himalayan Buddhist Society.

Some of His admirers and other devotees had arrived at this popular tourist resort braving heavy rains.

"I have been following the Dalai Lama this summer. I first went to Sumer and then Deskat up in Nubra valley and spent a month in Ladakh, the Leh area and took the bus down from Leh to here, the road was really really treacherous with all the rain this summer and the landslide and the road was really bad but we made it here and now we are happy," said Neal Patrick, an American tourist.

Some of them had come from Leh braving the flood-affected roads for an audience with the Dalai Lama.

"We are expecting around 7000 people, preachers including Tibetan and foreigners and also from Lahaul-Spiti. So, this afternoon after his initiations he is going back to Dharamsala," said Jigme Dorji, Executive Head of Nyingma Monastery, Manali.

The Dalai Lama is currently on a religious tour of the Kullu-Manali area, visiting monasteries and delivering sermons. (ANI)