H. H. Dalai Lama: Business, Ethics and Compassion at Santa Clara University
His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking at the morning panel discussion on "Business, Ethics and Compassion" at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California on February 24, 2014. Photo/Charles Barry
His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Business, Ethics and Compassion at Santa Clara University
San Jose, CA, USA, 24 February 2014 – His Holiness the Dalai Lama spent today at Santa Clara University (SCU), a Jesuit university committed to a more humane, just and sustainable world located in that epicentre of innovation, Silicon Valley. He was the guest of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics of SCU and the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education of Stanford University. It was a bright California morning as he was received by Rev. Michael Engh, President SCU and Dr James Doty, Director CCARE. Read the rest of this entry »
H. H. Dalai Lama: How to Achieve Happiness and the Unsung Heroes of Compassion
His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking at the inauguration of the Tibetan Community Center in Richmond, California on February 23, 2014. Photo/Jeremy Russell
His Holiness the Dalai Lama: How to Achieve Happiness and the Unsung Heroes of Compassion San Francisco, CA, USA, 23 February 2014 – This morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama drove from San Francisco out to Richmond, where the Tibetan community that has grown from a handful in the 1980s to about 1500 today had invited him to inaugurate their new Community Center. Tibetans of all ages lined the street as he arrived to a traditional welcome.
Kunjo Tashi the community President escorted His Holiness into the building. He cut the ribbon across the doorway into the temple and scattered rice as he recited auspicious prayers. He inspected the labels on the volumes of the Kangyur before taking his seat on the throne. Tea and sweet rice were served and His Holiness spoke briefly about the need to preserve Tibetan identity and culture. He stressed that the Center should be useful. Read the rest of this entry »
H. H. Dalai Lama at American Himalayan Foundation
His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, California on February 22, 2014. Photo/American Himalayan Foundation
San Francisco, California, USA, 22 February 2014 – San Francisco was the first place His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited on his initial trip to the USA in 1978, when he accepted an invitation from Richard Blum and his wife Dianne Feinstein. Today, he was the guest of the American Himalayan Foundation, set up by Blum 30 years ago to help people of the Himalayan region, including Tibetans, with education and other support, and the Blum Center for Developing Economies, which aims to tackle poverty and inequality.
In his introductory remarks, Richard Blum mentioned that he and His Holiness are nearly the same age, that they first met in 1972 and that he was pleased to have him back in San Francisco. He concluded with a quotation from Ted Kennedy: “For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.” Read the rest of this entry »
Economics, Happiness and the Search for a Better Life
Washington DC, USA, 20 February 2014 – His Holiness the Dalai Lama returned to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) this morning to participate in two panel discussions, the first involving members of the AEI and the second involving members of the Mind & Life Institute (MLI). Read the rest of this entry »
H. H. Dalai Lama: Happiness, Free Enterprise and Human Flourishing in Washington DC
His Holiness the Dalai Lama with students and potential future leaders after their meeting at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC on February 19, 2014. Photo/Patrick G. Ryan
Washington DC, USA, 19 February 2014 – A respite in the severe wintry weather gripping Dharamsala in recent days on Monday enabled His Holiness the Dalai Lama to take off by plane for Delhi. The Dhauladhar Mountains were brilliant against the clear blue sky. His journey continued on via Frankfurt to the United States. The final sector saw the Eastern Seaboard swathed in snow and piled snow still lined the streets as he drove into Washington DC. At the hotel he received a traditional welcome from beaming Tibetans led by Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, to the accompaniment of traditional Tibetan musicians. On Tuesday morning, after several private meetings he gave an interview to Elizabeth Dias of Time magazine. To a question about whether the USA is backing away from addressing human rights issues in its dealings with China, His Holiness declared that democracy, freedom and justice are American principles and fields in which the US continues to give a lead. He recommended that the free world engages with China, but stands firm on its moral principles. He said that to slacken its resolve about moral principles or a sense of truth would be a great loss. He added that there is a need for all nations to address climate change. Extreme weather is already affecting millions of farmers. He pointed out that the last Copenhagen summit on climate change failed because too many countries put their short term national interests ahead of the global interest. He warned that we have to take scientists’ predictions seriously. Read the rest of this entry »
The Dalai Lama Talks Pot, Facebook and the Pope
H. H. the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, Nobel Prize Laureate
BY ELIZABETH DIAS TIME FEBRUARY 19, 2014
A head of a lengthy two-week tour of the U.S. west coast, the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, spoke with TIME religion reporter Elizabeth Dias during a wide-ranging, 40-minute interview in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. He weighed in on the moral challenges that face U.S. foreign policy, the threat of climate change and the importance of healthy relations between China, the land of his birth, and India, the country which has given him a home in exile for over half a century. Though the 78-year-old Dalai Lama is routinely vilified by officials in Beijing, he had some warm words for China’s new President Xi Jinping. Below are excerpts from the conversation:
Tibetan freedom was once a major cause in the U.S., but today it gets very little attention. Was it a fad here?
Has the U.S. backed away from addressing human rights issues in China because Beijing is a more important economic power?
Read the rest of this entry »
Lobsang Dorjee si è autoimmolato
Il sacrificio di Lobsang Dorjee
Un giovane tibetano, ex monaco del monastero di Kirti, si è autoimmolato a Ngaba la sera del 13 febbraio nelle vicinanze del monastero al quale apparteneva. Si chiamava Lobsang Dorjee e aveva 28 anni. Una foto pubblicata da Tibetnet mostra Lobsang, ormai trasformato in una torcia umana, dritto in piedi nel mezzo della strada. In un altro scatto sono visibile le truppe anti sommossa cinesi di pattuglia sul luogo della protesta. Read the rest of this entry »
Phakmo Samdup si è immolato per il Tibet
Phakmo Samdup e la sua famiglia
Phakmo Samdup, un tibetano di ventisette anni padre di due bambini (nella foto), si è dato la morte con il fuoco nelle vicinanze della scuola di Dokarmo, una cittadina della Contea di Tsekok, nella Prefettura Autonoma Tibetana di Malho, provincia dell’Amdo. La protesta di Phakmo Samdup è avvenuta la sera del 5 febbraio ma la notizia è trapelata solo in data odierna. Le comunicazioni con l’intera area sono state interrotte dalla polizia che ha imposto alla popolazione di non diffondere la notizia della nuova immolazione lasciando invece credere che il tibetano si sia suicidato per motivi famigliari. Tibet Information Network riferisce che il giovane tibetano è morto sul luogo dell’autoimmolazione. Read the rest of this entry »
Audience for Shillong’s Tibetans and an Interfaith Meeting
His Holiness the Dalai Lama posing with members of the press after their meeting in Shillong, Meghalaya, India on February 5, 2014. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL
Shillong, Meghalaya, India, 5 February 2014 – About 1000 Tibetans have settled in Shillong, among whom the first four families arrived in 1947. When His Holiness the Dalai Lama heard the Settlement Officer say this during an audience for Tibetans at the State Central Library in Shillong this morning, he wanted to know if there were any members of those families still here. Two hands went up.
After the Settlement Officer had read his report about the local community, including their plans for a Tibetan Community Centre, His Holiness began to speak
“It’s now nearly 55 years since we came into exile and yet I’ve not been here before. I haven’t had the opportunity before, but today I am here and able to meet the Tibetan community. Although there is no formal settlement, you’ve found ways to make your lives here. Once we came into exile we were able to set up an administration and there are now 100,000 Tibetans in India doing quite well. Read the rest of this entry »
H. H. Dalai Lama’s Empowerment and Teaching at Shillong Polo Ground
His Holiness the Dalai Lama shares a moment of laughter with the monks at Ganden Choling in Lamparing, Meghalaya, India on February 4, 2014. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL
Shillong, Meghalaya, India – 4 February 2014 – Nestling in the village of Lumparing in the hills above Shillong is the small Tibetan monastery of Ganden Chöling. It was originally founded in 1957 by someone from Bhutan, but has since come under the administration of the Gelug Magon, a shared body comprising Sera, Drepung and Ganden monasteries. Drepung Loseling is the current administrator. With a dozen resident monks, the monastery is the principal place of worship for many of the 1000 Tibetans who live in Shillong. His Holiness the Dalai Lama paid the monastery a short visit this morning. Tibetans and other curious local residents lined the road as he drove by. Tibetan children offered a traditional welcome when he arrived.
Inside the small temple, His Holiness first paid his respects in front of the image of the Buddha. He then recited auspicious prayers of consecration, casting grains into the air by way of offerings as he did so. He examined the various statues enshrined around the walls and took his seat on the throne. Noting that volumes of the Kangyur and Tengyur had been placed in alcoves at the top of the walls, just below the ceiling he gave firm advice that it would be better if they were both more visible and more accessible on shelves lower down. Tea and ceremonial rice were served to the visitors accompanying His Holiness, the monks and supportive local Indian friends. Read the rest of this entry »
H. H. Dalai Lama: Long-life Empowerment in Guwahati & Convocation in Shillong
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the elected head of the Central Tibetan Administration Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay enjoy a moment of laughter as they prepare for Martin Luther Christian University’s Convocation ceremony in Shillong, Meghalaya, India on February 3, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
Shillong, Meghalaya, India, 3 February 2014 – Concluding his visit to Guwahati, this morning His Holiness the Dalai Lama returned to the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, venue of the Festival of Tibet to give a White Tara Long-Life Empowerment. He spent some time performing the preparatory rituals while the 3000 strong audience gathered, many of them Buddhists from Guwahati and Mon-Tawang in nearby Arunachal Pradesh. He took the opportunity to encourage his listeners to be 21st century Buddhists, not to be satisfied with blind faith, but to find out what the Buddha is, what the historical Buddha taught and how it can be put into practice in their own lives. He also released a newly published book by Tsering Tendar entitled ‘From Mon-yul’, which describes the religious heritage and history of that part of Arunachal Pradesh.
Once he had completed the empowerment, he drove to Guwahati airport to take the 20 minute helicopter flight to the former hill-station of Shillong, where he is the guest of the Government of Meghalaya. Tibetans and other members of the public lined the road to wave and greet him. Read the rest of this entry »
Talk on a Human Approach to Peace and Festival of Tibet Inauguration
His Holiness the Dalai Lama offers floral tribute to the two founders of LBS before his talk at Nehru Stadium in Guwahati, Assam, India on February 2, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
Guwahati, Assam, India, 2 February 2014 – A bright, warm sun shone in a cloudless blue sky as His Holiness drove to Guwahati’s Nehru Stadium this morning. He had been invited to give the first LBS Founders’ Commemorative Lecture on a ‘Human Approach to Peace’. As he was escorted into the stadium he encountered on either side a crush of people eager not only to catch a glimpse of him, but wielding their mobile phones to capture a picture too. He sat with other dignitaries as a group of traditional musicians played and sang a ‘borgeet’, a traditional Assamese song dating back to the 15th century.
Kashinath Hazarika described the LBS Foundation and trust recently established to commemorate the work of BN and KN Dutta-Borooah in establishing the Lawyer’s Book Stall. To begin with BN Dutta-Borooah pawned his wife’s jewellery to raise the funds to start the enterprise Read the rest of this entry »
Interfaith Conclave on Peace and Religious Harmony in Assam
His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking at the Interfaith Conclave on Peace and Religious Harmony in Guwahati, Assam, India on February 1, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
Guwahati, Assam, India, 1 February 2014 – Despite the early morning fog in Delhi, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s flight took off on time this morning and duly landed punctually in Guwahati, capital of Assam. His host, Bhaskar Dutta-Baruah, of the Lawyer’s Book Stall (LBS), a well-established Assamese publisher and bookseller, was there to receive him. Tibetans and Assamese were gathered outside his hotel on the banks of the stately flowing Brahmaputra to greet His Holiness and he was offered a traditional welcome by both communities.
After lunch, a short drive brought His Holiness to Rabindra Bhawan, venue of an Interfaith Conclave on Peace and Religious Harmony. He met the spiritual representatives with whom he was to share the platform for some minutes before they all took their seats on the stage. Prof Ranjit Dev Goswami gave a welcome address in which he introduced them to the audience, before inviting them to join together to light the lamp inaugurating the occasion. Read the rest of this entry »
H.H. Dalai Lama Speaks to Young Activists at Step by Step School
Noida, NCR, India, 31 January 2014 – The Step by Step School in Noida, across the Yamuna River from New Delhi, was host to His Holiness the Dalai Lama today. The school, whose distant origins lie in a nursery school begun in 1992, has grown since 2008 to being a school offering primary, junior and senior education, aiming to train students who are articulate, confident, socially responsible and ethical young people ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead when they leave. Step by Step, which explicitly seeks to provide a caring, healthy and challenging environment, currently has more than 1860 students and with a staff of more than 280 a remarkable student teacher ratio of 1to 8. Read the rest of this entry »
