Huge crowds are expected to converge in Xigaze, Tibet on July 21 to 24 because of the holding of a rare Buddhist ritual. Panchen Lama Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu will give the four-day Kalachakra, the first time it would be done in 50 years in Tibet.
A key ritual in Tibetan Buddhism, the Kalachakra – which means the wheel of time – is offered by senior monks, reported Global Times.
To be held outside the summer house of the Panchen Lama, the Zhaxi Lhunbo Lamasery, the rite required the construction of an altar that covers 200 square meters, covered by yellow silk embroidered with Tibetan designs. But the traditional rites will tap also technology with the installation by the temple and the Buddhist Association in Xigaze of two large LED screens, one each on both sides of the platform.
It was at the Lamasary where the 11th Panchen Lama was enthroned in 1995. The 20th anniversary of the enthronement was in December 2015.
Among the beliefs of Tibetan Buddhist are that the Kalachakra initiation made by a senior guru could free them from pains throughout life’s cycle. It would be the ninth Panchen Lama’s opportunity to give the Kalachakra in the last 100 years, the first two being held in Beijing and Hangzhou. However, other Tibetan Buddhist gurus led the Kalachakra in the Tibetan provinces of Gansu and Qinghai.
The rite happens just barely a month from banning Lady Gaga and her music in China because the “Born This Way” singer met the Dalai Lama, the self-exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhists, at an Indianapolis conference for 19 minutes.