HH Dalai Lama to Open Science and Spirituality Cofference in Sikkim


Wednesday, 08 December 2010 12:50 YC. Dhardhowa, The Tibet Post International

Dharamshala: Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama will visit four areas of North- eastern states of India, Sikkim and West Bengal, December 12-24, 2010, at which time His Holiness will offer lectures on world peace, teachings of Buddhism, confer empowerment, participate in a conference on Brain and Mind, and take part in long life prayer offering ceremonies. His Holiness will also give the inaugural address at the conference on science and spiritualism to host by the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Sikkim.
The Brain and Mind conference is expected to lay the foundations of Sikkim's efforts to formally introduce moral and ethical subjects in the school curriculum, said a media release by Pema Wangchuk Dorjee, the NIT's media consultant for the seminar.

"The inauguration of the conference by His Holiness is apt because he has always evinced a keen interest in science, and drawing from his advanced understanding of theosophical matters, often commented that science and spiritualism are not contradictory to each other and could in fact collaborate to explain things more completely. His Holiness is a leading proponent of Mind and Life Sciences and has consistently reiterated that complete education requires a sound rooting of students in spiritualism and the concepts of morality and ethics," the release said.

Chief minister Pawan Chamling has thanked His Holiness the Dalai Lama for accepting the government's invitation to visit Sikkim. In his letter, Chamling has conveyed that the government intends to follow up the conference proceedings by introducing moral ethics as a subject in Sikkim's schools and colleges.

On December 13, His Holiness will give a teaching on The Three Principal Paths (lamtso namsum) and confer a long life empowerment (tsewang) at Tharpa Choeling Monastery in Kalimpong, WB, India. On December 19, His Holiness will bless the Buddha Statue being built by the Sikkim State Government in Ravangla, Sikkim, India.

His Holiness will give two-day teachings from on December 21-22 in Gangtok, Sikkim, on the morning of December 21 he will teach on Nagarjuna's Commentary on Bodhicitta (jangchup semdrel) & Quintessential Collection of the Mind Sadhanas from the 5th Dalai Lama's Secret Teachings (thukdrup yangnying kundu). On the morning of December 22 he will confer a long life empowerment (tsewang) and be offered a long life ceremony.

On December 24, His Holiness will give teachings on Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo's 37 Practices of A Bodhisattva (laklen sodunma) and confer an Avalokiteshvera Initiation (chenresig wang) in the morning at Sed-Gyued Monastery in Salugara, WB, India.

The conference on Brain and Mind, Our Potential for Change: Modern Cognitive Sciences and Eastern Contemplative Traditions will be hosted by the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (NIT) from December 20 to 23.

The Tibetan spiritual leader had last visited Sikkim in 2004 and had toured the state for a week, conducting prayer ceremonies and meetings.