Dalai Lama sets Baltic times in new tour

  • 2001-06-14
  • TBT staff
One of the world's most influential spiritual leaders, the 14th Dalai Lama, will make for his second Pan-Baltic visit from June 18 to 27.

The religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism will visit Estonia from June 18 to 21. He arrives at Tallinn airport in the evening, and after a brief press conference will spend the night in the Tallinn city administration residence.

At 10 a.m. the next morning, the Dalai Lama will participate in a prayer service in Niguliste church, and at noon the deputy speaker of the Parliament Tunne Kelam will have lunch with him. Mart Laar's presence is still under consideration.

After a meeting with Tallinn Mayor Tonis Palts on June 19, the Dalai Lama will meet the public at Town Hall Square at 4.45 p.m.

On June 20 he will give a one-hour lecture at Tartu University, and the next day he will take off for Riga by car.

"In comparison with rock stars and other figures, the Dalai Lama's wishes regarding food and accommodation are rather modest," said Sven Grunberg from the Estonian Oriental Society, who is organizing the visit to Estonia.

The Dalai Lama is first of all a monk who is ready for a plain, ascetic atmosphere, he said. According to Grunberg, the nine members of the Dalai Lama's delegation have nothing against Estonian potatoes, butter, eggs and bread, honey and vegetables.

To get the city into the proper spiritual mood, four Tibetan monks are building a traditional sand mandala in Tallinn's Old Town.

The Dalai Lama will visit Riga from June 21 to 24, having been invited by the Latvian Culture Academy. He will give a lecture at the academy on June 21, then on June 22 he will meet the scientists and artists of the Academy of Sciences.

Also on June 22, at 3 p.m., the Dalai Lama will give a public lecture on "The Art of Happiness" at the Skonto Hall. On June 23 at 10:30 a.m., he will give a lecture on compassion and mutual dependency.

Monks from the Kopana Monastery in Nepal have been in Riga since June 8 to prepare the way for the visit. They are making a traditional sand mandala in Riga Stock Exchange's big hall. The completed mandala will solemnly be poured into the River Daugava on the day of the Dalai Lama's arrival.

The Dalai Lama goes to Lithuania on June 24. This time he was invited by Rolandas Pavilonis, rector of Vilnius University. "He was invited as a spiritual leader, not a political figure. He is the guest of our university," Pavilonis, who is also a Social Liberal MP, told The Baltic Times.

The Dalai Lama will meet with students and professors in Vilnius University's Theater Hall at 10 a.m. on June 25. On the same day he will meet with a group of Lithuanian MPs who support Tibetan independence. At 6:30 p.m., the Dalai Lama will mingle with the crowds of Vilnius at a stadium in Kalnu Park.

On June 26 he will stroll through the atmospheric Uzupis quarter and meet with Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas. Later that day he will travel to Kaunas, where he will meet Kaunas Mayor Erikas Tamasauskas. At 4:30 p.m., the Dalai Lama will meet with the residents of Kaunas in Rotuses Square. He will leave Lithuania on June 27.

The Dalai Lama's first visit to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia took place soon after they achieved independence in 1991.