Just before His Holiness returned from a trip to Mongolia in August 1995, the state Oracle suddenly declared that for his well-being, he should be greeted with a special ceremony. Even a "usual" greeting was a joyous and heart-warming affair with everyone who was available in McLeod Ganj lining the route to his residence, burning incense, and bowing low as he passed through, peering through the car window on all sides, smiling and waving. On this occasion, these monks from the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics spent tireless hours hand-painting banners for the arrival.