The renowned socially engaged Buddhist monk Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasena warmly welcomed His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre (MIMC) in Ladakh, in India’s far north, on 9 August—the first visit by His Holiness since 1994, when he inaugurated the MIMC’s Devachan Campus while the center was still taking shape as an aspiration of Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena’s engaged Buddhism.
The Dalai Lama offered a blessing for the campus, renewing his association with an institution that has become a renowned center for spiritual practice, education, and humanitarian service. His Holiness is undertaking an extended visit to Ladakh. He arrived in Leh to a warm welcome on 28 June and later attended celebrations to mark the occasion of his 91st birthday.*
“His Holiness’s sacred presence brought immense joy, spiritual inspiration, and blessings to thousands of devotees, monks, nuns, students, staff, volunteers, and well-wishers who gathered to receive him,” the MIMC shared in a public statement. “The historic occasion commenced with a warm and reverential welcome to His Holiness by Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena, along with monks, nuns, students, staff, and members of the Mahabodhi family.” (Facebook)
Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena made traditional offerings to the Dalai Lama, seeking his continued blessings and guidance for the MIMC’s spiritual, humanitarian, and environmental initiatives.
Addressing the hundreds of people gathered, Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena expressed gratitude for His Holiness’s return to the Devachan Campus, and reflected on how the campus had grown into a vibrant center of education, healthcare, meditation, humanitarian service, environmental care, and interfaith harmony.
Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena founded the non-profit Mahabodhi International Meditation Center (MIMC) in Leh, the joint capital of Ladakh, in 1986. He has since become an exemplar of socially engaged Buddhism in the region, launching numerous humanitarian projects, events, and initiatives. His outreach work includes providing educational opportunities and refuge for underprivileged children, empowerment and literacy programs for women and other socially disadvantaged groups, healthcare for the sick and needy, and a care home for the aged and destitute. The MIMC’s expanding campus has evolved into a hub for a multitude of socio-cultural and community programs in the region.
The monk is also the founder of the Mahakaruna Foundation, the Save the Himalayas Foundation, and a spiritual advisor to the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB).
During the Dalai Lama’s visit, Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena shared the MIMC’s future aspirations, including the proposed Mahakaruna University, dedicated to the study and propagation of universal compassion and the ambitious Buddha Park project, which is dedicated to dedicated to promoting world peace and the concept of a global human family.
The Dalai Lama then helped to lay a foundation stone and blessing sapling in a ceremony symbolizing growth and renewal, and the MIMC’s commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development. The Dalai Lama also visited the MIMC’s Buddha Park for World Peace, where he circumambulated the 1,000 statues of Shakyamuni Buddha.
“The visit reaffirmed the growing role of the Devachan Campus as a center for international dialogue, education, meditation, humanitarian service, environmental responsibility, and peace-building,” the MIMC said. “Thousands of people from different parts of India and across the world participate in programs organized at the campus, making it an increasingly important meeting place for people and cultures united by the aspiration for a more peaceful and compassionate world.” (Facebook)
In addition to integrating spiritual development and human and animal welfare, Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena and the MIMC are also closely involved in peace-building and interfaith dialogue, environmental conservation, and in promoting Buddhist and Himalayan cultural heritage through national and international festivals. Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena has traveled extensively to participate international conferences, seminars, and workshops to promote spiritual and cultural values, environmental awareness, non-violence and world peace, and elevating the status of women in society—especially those from underprivileged communities.
In 2021, Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena led a team from the MIMC on a humanitarian relief mission to the border regions of Ladakh, offering material COVID-19 relief as well as much-needed emotional and spiritual counseling for local residents who were living in fear during the dual crises of the pandemic and the military-led border standoff between Indian and Chinese troops. The same team also led a peace campaign in the conflict zone, appealing to the two nations not to resort to violence, but to resolve the standoff through peaceful means.**
* Dalai Lama Shares a Message of Compassion as 25,000 Gather in Ladakh to Mark His 91st Birthday (BDG)
** Work, Walk, and Pray for Peace: Bhikkhu Sanghasena Undertakes Peace Pilgrimage in Ladakh (BDG) and Buddhist Monk Bhikkhu Sanghasena Urges Peaceful Resolution amid Sino-Indian Border Tensions (BDG)
See more
Historic Visit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre. (Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh)
Dalai Lama returns to Leh’s Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre after 32 years (The Statesman)
Visit to the Mahabodhi International Meditation Center (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet)
Mahabodhi International Meditation Center
Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre – MIMC (Facebook)
Bhikkhu Sanghasena
Bhikkhu Sanghasena (Facebook)
Mahakaruna Foundation
Save the Himalayas Foundation
International Network of Engaged Buddhists
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