The Dalai Lama visits Yards Park on Saturday, surprising many park visitors (Photo By Tim Ebner)
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, surprised sunbathers, dog walkers and picnickers Saturday afternoon with a visit to Yards Park on the Capitol Riverfront.
The Dalai Lama led an outdoor ritual, which included a prayer service on the Riverfront’s boardwalk, followed by a water pouring ceremony.
The event marked the end of a 10-day teaching and world peace summit, held at the Verizon Center.
THIH has a photo slideshow of his visit, after the jump…
Kalachakra 2011 came to a close on Saturday with the dispersal of its sand mandala, which is a giant circular, three-dimensional structure built during the 10-day event. The mandala is considered by Buddhists to be the spiritual residence of the Kalachakra deities.
Sand from the mandala was transported from the Verizon Center to The Yards Park and mixed with river water to complete the dispersal ritual. The water was poured back into the river to spread the blessings of the Kalachakra deities to the aquatic and environmental life of the Anacostia.
Yards Park and the Anacostia River were selected for this closing ceremony in part because of the environmental restoration taking place along the river.
A crowd of onlookers gathered quickly upon the Dalai Lama’s arrival, and they stood in hushed silence as His Holiness stopped to meditate and pray by the water.
After the ceremony, the Dalai Lama took time to greet park visitors, and Capitol Riverfront leaders were on hand to present him with a Yards Park baseball cap.
THIH snapped photos of the Dalai Lama’s visit. Checkout the slideshow below (full captions are available by clicking on the photo image).