Dharamsala, Dec 11 (IANS) Tibetan spiritual leader the Karmapa Lama is in Bodh Gaya in Bihar to participate in month-long religious ceremonies, his aides said Thursday.”The 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, reached Bodh Gaya’s Tergar Monastery last evening (Wednesday). He will deliver discourses and participate in ceremonies there,” Gonpo Tsering, secretary to the spiritual leader, told IANS.

This is the Karmapa’s first visit outside the Gyuto Tantric monastery in Sidhbari near Dharamsala - the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile - after he was rescued along with 30 followers from snowbound Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti district on Sep 21.

“The Karmapa will stay in Tergar Monastery till Jan 15 and then he will proceed to Sarnath before returning to Sidhbari,” Tsering said.

The Karmapa is the spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu School, which is one of the four sects of Buddhism. He is considered the third most important Tibetan religious head after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama.

The Karmapa fled Tibet and sought refuge in India some eight years ago. Ever since, he has mostly lived in the Gyuto Tantric monastery.