Dharamshala: Following Wednesday's teachings on faith at the Indiana University Campus, His Holiness has continued his US tour with a visit to the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Centre, Indiana.
On Thursday His Holiness visited the centre near Bloomington, which was founded by his eldest brother, Thubten Norbu. This is the first visit the Dalai Lama has made to the centre since the death of his brother in September 2008. The Dalai Lama expressed his happiness that his late brother's spirit ‘still very much exists' at the centre. During his visit to the cultural centre, the Dalai Lama discussed his beliefs about happiness, explaining that ‘the ultimate source of joyfulness is within ourselves'.
The center, founded in 1979, has become a core site for education and religious teachings for the Tibetan community. His Holiness has expressed his hope that the centre continues to grow as a place of learning and not just a place of worship.
During a question and answer session at the centre, the only press session planned during the US visit, 9 year old Kai Grise presented a challenging question when he asked "How long do you think before China pulls out of Tibet?", to which His Holiness answered simply, "Oh, ho, that's a difficult question". Later the Dalai Lama spoke with young Grise and told him that he believed Tibet would see significant changes within the boy's lifetime.
His Holiness will continue his tour today with a visit to the Conseco Fieldhouse sports arena in Indianapolis, where he is due to give a public speech. Later stops on the US tour are also scheduled in Wisconsin, Iowa and New York City.
