New Delhi: ‘‘It is during times like this that we must focus on what unites us as members of one human family. Accordingly, we need to reach out to each other with compassion. As human beings, we are all the same. We experience the same fears, the same hopes, the same uncertainties, yet we are also united by a desire for happiness. Our human capacity to reason and to see things realistically gives us the ability to transform hardship into opportunity,’’ said His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his message.

Dalai Lama will confer a two-day Avalokiteshvara Empowerment (chenresig wang) on May 30 and 31 from 9 am to 10.30 am in Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh). Avalokiteshvara is the Buddha of Enlightened Compassion. The empowerment is a blissful, guided meditation and special practice through which people connect with Avalokieshvara and receive powerful inspiring blessings that help them strengthen their own compassion.

Tseten Samdup Chhoekyapa, secretary, office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama told MyNation that his teachings will be live webcast in Tibetan, English, Chinese, Hindi, French, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Japanese, Mongolian, Korean, German, Portuguese and Italian on the official websites and Facebook pages of the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. People are being requested to follow the social distancing rules while viewing the live webcast. He further said, His Holiness will grant the empowerment and give the commentary to the brief but powerful practice of Avalokiteshvara, emphasizing the practical application of these profound and heart opening methods to our lives.

‘‘In this time of serious crisis, we face threats to our health and sadness for the family and friends we have lost. Economic disruption is posing a major challenge to governments and undermining the ability of so many people to make a living. This crisis and its consequences serve as a warning that only by coming together in a coordinated, global response, will we meet the unprecedented magnitude of the challenges we face,’’ Dalai Lama added.

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‘‘Compassion helps us find peace with who we are, causes confidence and ensures we live a life of great meaning and connection. It makes us become the person we have the potential to be. Receive the healing blessings of the Buddha of Compassion and increase the power of your compassionate heart. If we can maintain a peaceful, compassionate mind we will have much power to create peace within our family, our community and society at large. However, often our mind isn’t peaceful enough to develop and hold strong compassion and then it is easy to become irritated and frustrated instead’’, said Tsewang Gyalpo Arya, secretary, DIIR, CTA.

‘‘Compassion is a supreme virtue that makes it impossible to develop an unhappy mind and gives us tremendous power to help others. It motivates us to help others and consequently empowers us to change and improve ourselves. Compassion for our family and friends will heal our close relationships and make them strong and stable. The more we open our hearts to others, the more our empathy will grow. In this way we develop universal compassion, the most humane and beneficial mind of all, and the springboard from which enlightenment will arise,’’ he added.