Karuna Day Celebration held at PU

Chandigarh, 7 January, 2014: The Youth Wing of Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre (MIMC) and Ladakh Students Association Chandigarh jointly organised the Karuna Day at the English Department Auditorium of the Panjab University here today. This day also happens to be the birthday of renowned Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Sanghsena, who is the founder president and Spiritual Director of MIMC, Leh-Ladakh. This day is being observed annually with great honour and respect by the alumni of Mahabodhi Residential School studying in different parts of India and abroad.
The event took place in the presence of eminent personalities from Ladakh, Delhi, Jammu, Chandigarh, Panchkula and many other parts of the country. They included former Union Minister P Namgyal, Commonwealth Secretariat Chandigarh General Secretary Stanzin Dawa, former MP Thupstan Chhewang. Venerable Lama Lobzang, general secretary, International Buddhist Federation, New Delhi was the chief guest of the programme.
Karuna or compassion is the heart of Buddha’s teaching. It is through his unbounded compassion and love, the Buddha reached and touched the hearts of countless sentient beings and transformed their lives into divinity. The Mahabodhi organization and its various wings were founded and being run on the profound path of compassion since their inception. The very vision of Ven. Sanghasena and his organization is to put compassion into action through his multifarious charitable services.
Among various dignitaries, a large number of Ladakhi students studying in Chandigarh and its surrounding areas and Buddhist Monks and Nuns from Myanmar and Vietnam, are also expected to participate in this auspicious program. A special prayer for world peace will also be presented by the members of the sangha on the day. Besides, Phunchok Ladakhi, a well known singer from Ladakh, Ladakh Scouts Musical Band, Ladakh Student Union, Chandigarh, Mahabodhi Luyangs Band and Mahabodhi Students studying at Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu, and Nagpur will also be presenting a series of traditional and devotional music, folk dance and chanting.
MIMC is a non-sectarian, non-Governmental, non-profit making, charitable organization based in Leh-Ladakh. The organisation was established more than two decade ago in the year 1986 by Buddhist Monk Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasena with a mission to offer spiritual and humanitarian services. Today, the organization is one of the most active NGOs in the region running various spiritual and humanitarian projects like meditation and teaching programs, training of young monks and nuns, residential schools and hostels for the underprivileged children, home for the homeless elderly people, school and home for the visually, physically and mentally handicapped people, hospital for the sick, women literacy programme and emergency relief programmes during the natural disasters etc.
In 2010, Mahabodhi established its Chandigarh branch with a hostel for the deserving girls hailing from Ladakh at Ramgarh and adjacent to that a meditation centre to hold short term retreat programmes for the benefit of the local people. // Chandigarh news online,  Chandigarh news in English, Chandigarh news,  Chandigarh current news,  Chandigarh news live, Chandigarh breaking news, Chandigarh headlines, Chandigarh latest news,