Doon Buddhist Committee marks Dalai Lama's 91st birthday with plantation drive

DEHRADUN: Doon Buddhist Committee celebrated the 91st birthday of Nobel Peace Laureate the 14th Dalai Lama on Sunday by organising its annual cleanliness and tree plantation drive at a vacant Nagar Nigam site on Panache Valley Road near the Helipad.Paying tribute to the Dalai Lama's message of universal responsibility and environmental conservation, volunteers cleaned the site before planting 91 saplings of native species, including Asoka, Neem, Bamboo, Amaltas, Mango, Timru and Kachnar. Each sapling was protected with bamboo and green-net tree guards.The celebrations also included a vegetarian cake-cutting ceremony, distribution of laddus and copies of Sheltering Trees of Interdependence, a poem by the Dalai Lama highlighting ecological harmony.Committee vice-president Tsering Luding said the best way to honour the Buddhist leader's teachings was by translating his message of interdependence into meaningful local action.Addressing the gathering, environmentalists and civil society members stressed that plantation drives should focus not only on planting trees but also on ensuring their survival through sustained care during their early years.

JP Maithani, chairperson of Aagaas Federation, shared an anecdote from Heinrich Harrer's Seven Years in Tibet, describing how the construction of a movie studio for the young Dalai Lama in Lhasa was modified to avoid harming earthworms and insects, illustrating the Buddhist tradition of compassion towards all forms of life. The committee thanked local councillor Sameer Pundir for identifying the plantation site, Bhavishya of Serendipity Nursery for donating the saplings, and members, volunteers and supporters for contributing to the initiative, which was attended by Chisur Luding Shabdrung Rinpoche, former MP of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, along with representatives of several Dehradun-based civil society organisations.