Tibetans celebrate Chotrul Duschen; Dalai Lama skips customary sermon 

Exiled Tibetans on Tuesday celebrated Chotrul Duschen, the Great Prayer Festival of Tibet, at the Tsuglagkhang in McLeodgan with a grand prayer ceremony, even as the Tibetan Spiritual Leader the 14th Dalai Lama skipped his customary sermon on the occasion.

The festival falls on the first full moon of the Tibetan lunar calendar and marks the culmination of Losar-- the Tibetan New Year festivities-- sacred full-moon day.

Traditionally, the Dalai Lama would lead the prayers and deliver teachings focusing on themes of compassion, wisdom, and the life stories of the Buddha on the occasion. This year, however, he did not preside over the religious ceremony.

Though he skipped the festival prayers, the spiritual leader was present at his residence for the full ordination ceremony of young monks. Calls to his private officer to seek clarification on his absence went unanswered.

Chotrul Duschen is one of the four major Buddhist festivals in the Tibetan calendar and was once observed with great religious fervour in Tibet.

Monks, nuns, officials and lay devotees from all walks of life would gather to participate in special prayers and receive blessings at the revered Jokhang Temple, also known as the Tsuglagkhang in Lhasa.

Meanwhile, in McLeodganj, home to the Tibetan government-in-exile, hundreds of monks, nuns and devotees assembled at the Tsuglagkhang Temple Complex to offer prayers.

The Great Prayer Festival is also renowned for its intricate butter sculpture offerings, known as Chenga-chodpa — the full-moon offering displayed at the Tsuglagkhang. Butter sculpture is a distinctive form of Tibetan religious art in which sacred images of Buddhas, deities and symbolic animals are crafted from coloured butter and placed upon tormas, or ritual cake offerings.

These elaborate and vibrant sculptures are displayed inside the main temple, allowing devotees to pay homage and witness an artistic expression of faith that has been preserved in exile for decades.

Established in 1409 by Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, this festival lasts for two weeks, focusing on mass prayers, rituals, and the accumulation of merit.