Читать книгу The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Inner Peace - Далай-лама XIV, Литагент HarperCollins USD, Дуглас Абрамс Арава - Страница 12

Several months after the search party had decided that the child they found in Taktser was the true incarnation of the Dalai Lama, my parents took me to Kumbum Monastery where I was enthroned during a ceremony held at dawn. The period after that was a lonely and rather unhappy phase in my childhood. My parents left, and I was alone in a totally unfamiliar environment. It is very hard for a child to be separated from loved ones. Most of the time, I was unhappy. I did not understand what it meant to be a Dalai Lama, because I felt I was a little boy like any other.

In the winter of 1940, I was taken to the Potala where I was officially enthroned as spiritual leader of the Tibetan people during a ceremony that took place in the largest reception room in the palace. I remember especially the first time I sat on the large wooden “lion” throne, sculpted and encrusted with precious stones. Soon after, I was taken to the Jokhang Temple, where I took the vows of a novice. Reting Rinpoche symbolically shaved off my hair. He was the Regent, acting as the head of State until I came of age.

Apart from Reting Rinpoche, I had two other preceptors and three monks who served me: the master of ceremonies, the master cook, and the master of robes. Wherever I went I was accompanied by a large retinue of ministers and advisors from the most eminent and noble families in the country, all dressed in sumptuous silk gowns. Each time I left the Potala, almost the entire population of Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, would try to catch sight of me. And as my procession went by, everyone would prostrate in respectful silence, frequently in tears.