Amid all the Christmas cheer we’re also thinking, joining in with and celebrating other religious and cultural festivities that take place in December. African American, Jewish, Buddhist and Pagan communities are among those marking important occasions as the year draws to a close.
Here, we mark five of the global occasions taking place this month and share insights into just some of the traditions associated with them.
The title ‘Dalai Lama’ is given to the spiritual leader of the Gelug (Yellow Hat) – the newest and the most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is considered a symbol of unification, representing Buddhist values and traditions. The Dalai Lama is considered to be a successor to a line of tulku, (keepers of knowledge/teachings), who are believed to be incarnations of the Bodhisattva; beings who refrain from reaching enlightenment out of compassion for those who cannot and are suffering as a result. Dalaiis derived from the Mongolian dalaivan gan or dalaiin Kan (ocean/great) and, in combination with the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ (master/guru), forms the title Dalai Lama, literally, master of the ocean or ocean guru.