Dharamsala, Jan 16 (IANS) Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama Saturday returned to this Himachal Pradesh hill town after completing a fortnight-long visit across the country.
“Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, has safely returned to Dharamsala this (Saturday) afternoon after successful teachings at Bodh Gaya followed by visits to two cities of Bhubaneswar in Orissa and Baroda in Gujarat,” according to a statement posted on the website of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

During his trip, the Dalai Lama, 74, inaugurated a Buddhist monastery in Orissa’s Gajapati district Jan 12.

The five-storeyed Buddhist monastery, Padma Sambhav Mahavira, is said to be one of the biggest monasteries in that part of the country.

Earlier, the Dalai Lama visited Bodh Gaya in Bihar to deliver religious discourses. Hollywood star Richard Gere too attended the five-day discourse on Buddhism, where he supported the demand to turn the town where the Buddha attained enlightenment into a vegetarian zone.

The Hollywood actor regularly visits Dharamsala - the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

The Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959. His government-in-exile is not recognised by any country.