They hope for a speedy recovery like Tibet.
Followers of the Dalai Lama gathered on July 4th, Independence Day, outside the luxury Park Hyatt hotel in Midtown, where the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader is recovering from knee replacement surgery.
A large group of the Dalai Lama’s followers, some wearing traditional Tibetan garb and carrying prayer beads, posed for photos outside the West 57th Street hotel Thursday and walked clockwise around the block as if they were in a Buddhist temple, praying.
“We believe that doing the pilgrimage brings good fortune not only for the future but also for the present,” said Yongten Dorje, 40, of Kew Gardens, Queens.
“We envision this as our temple and His Holiness is present inside,” said Dorjee’s wife, Karsang Yudon, 45.
The Dalai Lama arrived in New York City in late June, his first visit to the United States since 2017, to undergo knee replacement surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
The 88-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, who fled to India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet in 1959, has been plagued by health problems for years.
The surgery on June 28 was successful and the patient is expected to make a full recovery after being discharged the next day, David J. Maiman, chief of the Upper East Side hospital’s adult reconstruction and joint replacement service, said in a statement.
“The Pope’s personal medical team and office were in constant contact with the surgical and medical staff at HSS,” Maiman said.
It’s unclear how long the Dalai Lama will be recuperating at the five-star hotel across from Carnegie Hall, but worshippers have been visiting the hotel every day to offer prayers, Gothamist reported. First reported.
Existence may be suffering, as Buddha taught, but the atmosphere outside the hotel was joyous.
The Dalai Lama’s personal chef, Tenzin Pathan, showed up at one point on Thursday and was greeted by the crowd as if he were Taylor Swift.
“That’s what I heard [the Dalai Lama’s] “The treatment was successful and we are very happy,” said Karsang Phuntsok, 58, who brought his family from Jackson Heights.
“He is sharing his wisdom throughout Tibet and India. My family is very proud of his achievements,” said Phuntsok’s son, Barwa Kunshey, 11.
China considers the Dalai Lama a dangerous separatist, a charge the religious leader denies.
Indeed, President Trump’s visit to New York came on the heels of a bipartisan congressional delegation visiting northern India, a visit that drew threatening letters from the Chinese embassy in the United States.
“The visit interferes in China’s internal affairs and violates China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the letter said.
Outside the Park Hyatt, conversations of “Free Tibet” were barely audible among the Independence Day crowd.
For Ella Krivova, a 37-year-old Upper East Side resident who was grateful for the holiday to be able to spend more time in close proximity to the Dalai Lama, the religious leader’s presence itself was a “rare opportunity.”
“This city is very materialistic, but being here allows me to be closer to the teachings and develop and deepen my life,” she said.
“His heart current is so vast, so kind and so generous that it will lead to teachings that will liberate and help others in the future.”
