Tibetan spiritual leader to retreat and rest at Bylakuppe for a month

Bengaluru: Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, will arrive in Bengaluru on Jan. 4 and depart the following day for Bylakuppe in Mysuru district.

Confirming his visit to Karnataka, Jigme Tsultrim, Chief Representative Officer (CRO) of the South Zone, Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), said, “His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be arriving in Bengaluru on Jan. 4 and will stay for a day before heading to Bylakuppe, where he is scheduled to remain for a month.”

The Dalai Lama last visited Karnataka in 2017. Bylakuppe, home to approximately 15,000 Tibetan exiles, is the second-largest Tibetan settlement globally, following Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, which serves as the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

“Winters in Dharamsala are quite harsh. His Holiness is visiting Karnataka for a month-long retreat to rest and recuperate. Depending on his health, he may conduct teachings and grant audiences at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Bylakuppe,” Tsultrim said.

The 89-year-old spiritual leader underwent a knee transplant in USA in June 2024 and returned to India in August. The Dalai Lama is expected to spend the winter months of January and February in Bylakuppe.

Karnataka hosts five Tibetan settlements: Lugsung Samdupling in Bylakuppe (established in 1961), Doeguling in Mundgod (1966), Dickey Larsoe in Bylakuppe (1969), Hunsur Rabgayling (1972), and Kollegal Dhondenling (1973).