HH the Dalai Lama Begins Teaching for the Russian Buddhists November 25, 2009

Dharamsala, HP, India, 24 November 2009 (www.tibet.net) - His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teaching for the Russian Buddhists, a three-day Buddhist Initiation and Teaching event, began today morning at Tsuklagkhang, the main temple at Mcleod Ganj, Dharamsala. The teaching will continue till 26th November 2009. The teaching was jointly organised by the spiritual leaders Telo Rinpoche and Yelo Rinpoche.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama today gave an introductory teaching on Lama Tsongkhapa's Three Principal Aspects of the Path (Lam-tso Nam-sum) and in Praise of Dependent Origin (Tendrel Toepa).

About 750 Buddhists from former Soviet states like Kalmykia, Buryatia, Tuva, Russia, Mongolia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan attended the teaching. Devotees from Russia, Buryatia and Kalmykia, where Buddhists are mostly concentrated, reported major attendance with 225, 186 and 154 devotees respectively. Also among the devotees are a large number of foreigners from about fifty different countries. More than a thousand monks and nuns,  and hundreds of layman are also taking part in the three-day teaching and initiation.

The highlight of the second day's teaching, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. (local time) tomorrow, is 'Drub-Shag', in preparation for the actual initiation which is to be held on 26 November. Following the completion of  Drub-Shag, His Holiness will do the preliminary to the initiation of the Thirteen Deity Vajrabhairava.

On the final day of the teaching, His Holiness will do Drub-Shag, starting at 7:00 a.m (local time), after which actual initiation of the Thirteen Deity Vajrabhairava will start and is expected to last till noon.

Live audio and video webcast in Tibetan, Russian and English languages is available on www.dalailama.com