His Holiness the Dalai Lama has cancelled almost all of his major overseas public engagements for 2018, according to a recent report on the news website Phayul.com.

“It is with deep regret that I inform you of a change in His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s schedule, obliging him to cancel the majority of his travels abroad, including the United States of America,” the Dalai Lama’s Secretary Tenzin Taklha stated in a letter to the mayor of the city of Raleigh in North Carolina earlier this month. (Phayul.com)

Reflecting the decision, the published schedule of engagements for His Holiness maintained on his official website is lacking the usual busy lineup of public appearances and teachings, although no official announcement has so far been made.

While no reason has been given for the cancellations, during an event with foreign students in November last year, the Dalai Lama, who turns 83 this year, admitted that he was finding it increasingly difficult to recover from long-haul international flights—especially to United States—as he grows older.

The exiled spiritual leader of Tibet and Nobel Peace Prize laureate is currently in Bodh Gaya, in the northeastern Indian state of Bihar, where he has been conduction a series of talks, teachings, and empowerments. His next major public appearance is a teaching on 2 March in Dharamasala, his official residence.

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Dalai Lama cancels all major schedules overseas for 2018 (Phayul.com)
Schedule (The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)