Icons of Tinseltown and Tibet celebrate Buddhist festival

The Dalai Lama performed rituals on the first day of the Buddhist festival of Kalachakra in Bodh Gaya yesterday. The town, in the the eastern India state of Bihar, is believed to be the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment.

The American actor Richard Gere joined other devotees at as the Tibetan spiritual leader took part in the 10-day festival of teachings and meditations. The Kalachakra is the most important ritual of the Mahayana sect, one of two main branches, of traditional Buddhists.