Following a postponement of the second day of teachings due to local cloudbursts yesterday, people began gathering on the Shewatsel teaching ground early this morning. Eventually, the organizers estimate, about 65,000 people packed into and around the ground, many of them standing to avoid the gentle rain. At 6:30am His Holiness the Dalai Lama emerged from his residence riding in a golfcart, preceded by yellow-hatted monks carrying incense and blowing horns. A ceremonial umbrella, a mark of respect, flew over the vehicle.

From the platform where he climbed out of the vehicle, His Holiness smiled and waved to the crowd nearby. Inside the pavilion he saluted the image of the Buddha and lit lamps before it. Coming right out to the front of the stage he waved to the crowd before him and many of them waved back. He then took his seat on the throne and addressed the congregation.

“Today, here in Leh, Ladakh are people of unwavering faith and conviction, lay people and monastics. You may all have other things to do, but you’ve chosen to come here to attend the empowerment of Avalokiteshvara, the Great Compassionate One, for which I thank you.

“First of all, I’ll do the preparatory rituals and, in the meantime, you can recite the six-syllable mantra, Om mani padme hum. With regard to Avalokiteshvara, all the Buddhas praise him. Full of great positive qualities, he is the embodiment of compassion, much as Manjushri is regarded as the embodiment of wisdom. He is also distinguished by his participation in a dialogue with Shariputra in the ‘Heart Sutra’.

“The Omniscient Gendun Drup and subsequent Dalai Lamas were like Avalokiteshvara. I don’t have their qualities, but I do cultivate bodhichitta.

“Tibetans have a special bond with Avalokiteshvara, as do people of the Himalayan Region. You also pray to him with the unwavering faith that comes from such a close link. I will give this empowerment to you. Such an opportunity to make this human life worthwhile fills my heart with joy..