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After attending the second session of the Kagyu
Monlam at the Mahabodhi Stupa, the Gyalwang Karmapa visited the
Medical Camp at Birla Mandir in Bodhgaya, in order to bless the
activity.
This camp is one of the special events offered this year in
celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Kagyu Monlam. It aims to
alleviate the suffering of the local community by providing free
medicine and treatment for local people. In spite of the development
of tourism, there are many people living in desperate straits in
Bodhgaya today, too poor to afford even the most basic medical
treatment or medicine. Poverty, disease and deformity haunt the
streets of this small town.
When the Gyalwang Karmapa decided that Kagyu Monlam should offer a
medical camp, his sister, Chamsing Ngodrup Palzom, oversaw the
preparations and Dr Liu Chi-Chun, from Taiwan, the founder and
president of the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps, rose to the
challenge of providing a medical team, medicine and equipment. He is
very experienced in leading teams of doctors and nurses on mercy
missions to different parts of Asia. He is already well-known in the
Tibetan community for his medical camp every year in Dharamsala,
which he organises in conjunction with Ngari Rinpoche, His Holiness
the Dalai Lama’s younger brother. Dr Liu Chi-Chun has brought a team
of 50 medical personnel, doctors, pharmacists and nurses, from
Taiwan to conduct the camp. The camp offers allopathic medicine for
a wide range of conditions, medical check-ups, and dentistry.
A supporting team of Indian students from FoGuangShan Buddhist
College are working voluntarily as translators for the medical team.
The medical staff waited at the Birla Mandir with various guests
assembled to greet the Gyalwang Karmapa: Mingyur Rinpoche, Gyaltong
Rinpoche , Gen Tenzin of Namgyal Branch Monastery and Lamas
representing the various Tibetan monasteries in Bodhgaya, Lama
Choedrak CEO of Kagyu Monlam, Tibetan lay officials, and a small
group of local Indian officials.
After a brief inspection of the camp, during which the Gyalwang
Karmapa met medical staff and some of the patients, he greeted the
guests. Then the guests left for a special lunch at the Royal
Residency Hotel, hosted by the Kagyu Monlam Organising Committee.
The chief guests were Dr Liu Chi-Chun, Master Hai Tao of Life TV,
Taiwan, and the Venerable Hye Neung, Tibet House, Korea.
In spite of an extremely demanding schedule, Pal Gyalwang Karmapa
made the time to attend the lunch, and distributed small souvenirs
to all the guests personally.
The staff at the medical camp treated 488 patients on the first day.
Additionally, they decided to forgo their lunchbreak so that the
camp could be open throughout the day, in order for the monks and
nuns, who are usually at the Mahabodhi Stupa at other times, to be
able to attend more easily.
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