Credits to the owner
NEW YORK — Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, arrived in New York on Sunday to undergo treatment for his knees, receiving a warm and festive welcome from thousands of followers. His office in Dharamsala, India, where the 88-year-old Buddhist leader resides, announced earlier this month that he would travel to the United States for “medical treatment” on his knees, though no further details have been provided.
Many followers, adorned in traditional Tibetan attire, gathered outside the Dalai Lama’s Manhattan hotel despite the oppressive heat, hoping to catch a glimpse of their revered leader.
“Once we saw him, it felt really powerful. And everyone was, like, emotional because he’s, like, our leader,” said Tenzin Pasang, an 18-year-old US-born follower who has now seen the Dalai Lama three times. “So it’s very nice to see him in New York.”
Pasang and others welcomed the spiritual leader by performing a traditional Tibetan dance.
The Dalai Lama’s visit comes shortly after a group of senior US lawmakers, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, met with him and the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala last week, prompting strong criticism from China. The visit followed the passage of a bill by the US Congress aimed at encouraging Beijing to resume talks with Tibetan leaders, which have been stalled since 2010.
Many exiled Tibetans fear that Beijing will name a rival successor to the Dalai Lama, strengthening its control over Tibet, which Chinese troops invaded in 1950. The Dalai Lama, who was just 23 when he fled the Tibetan capital Lhasa after a failed uprising against Chinese forces, crossed the Himalayas into India in 1959.
In 2011, the Dalai Lama stepped down as the political leader of the Tibetan people, transferring secular power to a democratically elected government representing around 130,000 Tibetans worldwide.
