Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama to seek medical treatment in US

The office of the Dalai Lama announced on June 3 that the 88-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader will travel to the United States for medical treatment on his knees. All of his engagements, including public audiences, are suspended from June 20 onward until further notice.

In a statement posted on the social media platform X, the Dalai Lama's office said, "His Holiness the Dalai Lama is scheduled to travel to the United States for medical treatment on his knees. Upon his return to Dharamsala, regular engagements will resume."

The announcement comes just months after the Dalai Lama received Lord Buddha's sacred Kapilavastu relics in April during a ceremony in Sri Lanka. The relics, which connect devotees to Buddha's profound legacy, hold immense historical and spiritual significance.

In February, the Dalai Lama marked the Buddhist festival of Chotrul Duechen by delivering a teaching from the Jataka Tales to over 3,000 Tibetan followers, monks, nuns, and international visitors in Dharamshala, his residence in the Indian Himalayas.

The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, has lived in exile in Dharamshala for over six decades. His regular teachings and public appearances draw large crowds of devotees and supporters from around the world.