During this year’s Fourth of July holiday, followers of the Dalai Lama gathered outside Midtown’s luxurious Park Hyatt Hotel, where the exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhism is recuperating from a knee replacement surgery. Many of the devotees were dressed in traditional Tibetan garb and worn prayer beads as they posed for photos and prayed in front of the West 57th Street hotel.
We believe that if you circumambulate, it’s offering us good luck in our future and in our present also,” said Yonten Dorjee, a 40-year-old from Kew Gardens, Queens. His wife, Kalsang Youdon, aged 45, echoed the sentiment by stating that they view the hotel as their temple with the Dalai Lama inside.
The Dalai Lama arrived in New York City in late June for his first trip to the US since 2017, undergoing knee replacement surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery. The 88-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been dealing with health issues for years, but his recent surgery was successful and he is expected to make a full recovery after being discharged from the hospital a day later.
David J. Mayman, the chief of adult reconstruction and joint replacement service at the Upper East Side hospital, confirmed that the Dalai Lama’s personal medical team remained in constant communication with the surgical and medical staff at HSS throughout the procedure.
The exact duration of the Dalai Lama’s recovery period at the five-star hotel across from Carnegie Hall is unclear, but admirers have been making daily devotional visits to the Park Hyatt. The mood outside the hotel has been joyful as people celebrate the spiritual leader’s successful surgery and continued work spreading wisdom in Tibet and India.
China views the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist; however, he has dismissed this claim. The religious leader’s recent visit to New York City followed shortly after a bipartisan House delegation visited him in northern India, which prompted a threatening letter from China’s embassy to the US. Despite this tension, visitors to the Park Hyatt expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be close to the spiritual teachings of the Dalai Lama and connect with his vast, kind, and generous mindstream.
