Medford Buddhist Center Preps for Dalai Lama

If you're around Washington Street in Medford you'll see an unusual site.

A large tent is being erected in open space between homes on Washington and Magoun Avenue, big enough to hold a crowd of 1,800. The occasion? A visit from the Dalai Lama.

The Kurukulla Buddhist Center, located on Magoun Avenue, is hosting the exiled leader of Tibetan Buddism on Oct. 16 in a ticketed event. It will be the second time the Dalai Lama has visited Medford.

Geshe Tsulga, a Buddhist Monk and teacher at the center, had a close bond with the Dalai Lama and had help arrange his previous visit to Medford in 2003. Before he died in 2010, he asked the Buddhist leader to come to the center again, according to Wendy Cook, a volunteer at Kurukulla.

The stop in Medford will be part of a three day trip to Boston for the Dalai Lama that includes a talk at MIT. A team of volunteers is collaborating to organize the visit to Medford; arranging the construction of a tent, decorating, doing maintenance and handling tickets, Cook said.

The tent is located mostly in an easement area and neighbors have been receptive to the event, Cook said.

"Our neighbors have been very kind," she said.

The event is sold out, but there will be a large screen and market area set up on Washington Street to accomodate the public, Cook said. The event begins about 10 a.m. Tuesday.