Midwest Dharma

HH Dalai Lama's Speech Broadcast Live to Tibet by VOA

As Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal today, Voice of America (VOA) broadcast the award ceremony and the Dalai Lama's acceptance speech live to Tibet via radio, television, and the Internet. The same broadcast included videotaped testimonials of the heads of all six sects of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Congressional Medal ceremony will be rebroadcast in several formats to Tibet and elsewhere in China and will be available for viewing at www.voanews.com/tibetan/.

At the risk of sounding like a real geek, the US Mint has produced a bronze replication of the gold medal given to His Holiness...http://www.usmint.gov/ to details and ordering. 

I should have mine in 1-2 weeks.  :o)

President Bush to meet with the Dalai Lama in public

As reported in the Age - Australian website - www.theage.com.au

GEORGE Bush is to become the first American president to meet the Dalai Lama in public.

Mr Bush will meet him next month in a gesture that risks infuriating the Chinese Government. They will meet at a ceremony in front of the symbol of American democracy, the Capitol Building, where the Tibetan leader will be presented with the Congressional Gold Medal.

China reacts with fury to any recognition given to the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in 1959, and whom it regularly accuses of trying to "split" Tibet from China.

Last week, China criticised German Chancellor Angela Merkel after meeting the Dalai Lama and backing his call for more cultural autonomy for Tibet.

Hmmm....finally, Bush uses his "I don't care what people think" attitude for something good.

Khandro Rinpche back in Midwest for first time in 10 years

From our weeky Shambhala update comes this good news:

Due to the holiday, First Sunday talk will be on September 9.

The First Sunday Talk will be at 11:30 with Patrick Dallas, special treats
afterwards.

Then at 12:30 there will be talk by RIta Gross about the upcoming visit to
Milwaukee by Khandro Rinpoche -- Here's what Rita has to say about it...

Venerable Khandro Rinpoche will be giving her first teachings in the
Midwest is ten years on Sept. 29-30 at the Milwaukee Shambhala Center.
She last taught in the Midwest in Minneapolis in 1997.  Rinpoche is well
known for her direct, penetrating teaching style and for her ability to
express the most profound teachings of Buddhism even in public talks.  She
divides her time between her nunnery, Samten Tse, in India and Lotus
Garden, her western center located in Virginia.  She also teaches
extensively in North America and Europe, including many visits to various
Shambhala centers. 

For more information about her, about the Milwaukee program,
and for registration, visit Shambhala Meditation Center of Milwaukee's website

Rita Gross has taught widely in the Shambhala mandala and has been a
student in that mandala for more than thirty years.  For the past ten
years she has also been a student of Venerable Khandro Rinpoche and was
named a lopon (the Tibetan term for Acharya for Senior Teacher) by her in
2005.  Rita will present a first hand glimpse of this remarkable teacher
and discuss her work and visit in more detail.

Should be interesting afternoon....

Video higlights from HH Dalai Lama's visit to SMC

September marks the one year anniversary of the visit by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Great Stupa  of Dharmakaya at Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado.  Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, holder of the Shambhala Buddhist Lineage, presented His Holiness with the first Living Peace Award.

2500+ guests joined Sakyong Mipham, His Holiness, Queen Noor and Rabbi Irwin Kula as they gathered in the cold Colorado Rockies to honor His Holiness and celebrate the pursuit of compassion.

Click here for a video of the occasion.

HH Dalai Lama in the US

HH Dalai Lama is currently touring North America, culminating in the awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, DC on October 18th.

October 9 Public Talk in Ithaca, NY (His North American seat is at Namgyal monastery in Ithaca)
October 10 Teaching at Namgyal Monastery
October 12-14 Teaching/Public Talk in NYC - Beacon Theatre
October 20-22 Teaching/Public Talk in Atlanta, GA
October 24-26 Teaching in Bloomington, IN at Tibetan Cultural Center*
October 26  Public Talk in Lafayette, IN - Purdue
October 27 Public Talk in Bloomington, IN
October 28 Public Talk in Ottawa, ON
October 31 Public Talk in Toronto, ON

After a jaunt to Italy in December, he will return to India until May 2008 when he pops up  in the UK.

Midwesterners who would like to see His Holiness closer to home should save the date for the teachings that he will give in Madison, WI from July 20-23.  His Holiness will give a 4 day teaching on Shantideva's A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life (chodjug) & Kamalashila's Middle Stages of Meditation (gonrim barpa).

Details on His Holiness and his schedule can be found at www.dalailama.com.   The Madison teachings are  sponsored/requested by Deer Park Center.

State Oracle of Tibet speaks out about Environmentalism

From The Green Blog on the Sundance Channel website:

The Venerable Thubten Ngodup, a cabinet level member of the Tibetan Government in Exile and advisor to His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, recently completed his first public speaking tour of the United States. His multiple engagements in California, New York, Chicago, Florida, Kentucky, Colorado, Washington DC and others, focused on the theme of "Global Warming and Personal Responsibility."

Although an ordained monk and master sculptor, The Venerable Thubten Ngodup is most widely known for being the Nechung Kuten, or the Medium of the State Oracle of Tibet. This means he is a channel or physical vessel for a spirit known as Dorje Drakden. For more than a thousand years, Dorje Drakden has been considered a spiritual protector and guardian of Tibet. His predictions and teachings have informed many political and social decisions in Tibet. He is famed for having counseled the Dalai Lama on the exact time and route to take when escaping Tibet during the Chinese invasion of 1949.

Watch Kuten La and his translator Marya Schwabe explain more on Dorje Drakden and his relationship to the Dalai Lama.

What's next? Yak meat Happy Meals??

STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS will open what it says will be the first luxury hotel in the capital of Tibet in January 2010. The 169-room St. Regis Resort, Lhasa, will be located in the scenic Barkhor area, a Tibetan neighborhood east of Lhasa with a view of the Potala Palace, a 10-minute drive away. The hotel will include a presidential suite, 50 villa-style suites as well as 9,000 square feet of meetings space, three restaurants and a health club and spa. The hotel will be developed by state-owned Lhasa Yungao International Hotel Co. and managed by Starwood. The St. Regis Resort, Lhasa, will be the first international-branded hotel to open in Tibet since Holiday Inn pulled out in 1997.

Dalai Lama tickets go on sale May 23rd

From the Cornell Daily Sun-

Ticket’s for the Dalai Lama’s public speaking events in Ithaca go on sale to the public online May 23, according to the Namgyal Monastery’s website. A limited number of tickets for the event at Cornell will go on sale Aug. 15 to members of the Cornell community only.

In April, the Namyal Monestary announced that the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, will visit Ithaca Oct. 9 and 10.

He will host three public events: a lecture on world peace at Barton Hall in the afternoon on Oct. 9; a talk on praying and world peace in the morning on Oct. 10 at the State Theatre in downtown Ithaca; a teaching on Buddhist texts in the afternoon on Oct. 10 at Ben Light Gymnasium at Ithaca Collee.

All proceeds benefit the Namgyal Monestary, a not-for-profit organization, and fund the Dalai Lama’s trip to Ithaca.

Tickets will be available for purchase at namgyal.org.

For more on the Dalai Lama's trip to Ithaca and the Namgyal Monestary, keep reading....

Tibetan Chanting before and during the visit of Dalai Lama's sister to Minneapolis

Jetsun Pema, sister of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, will be in Minneapolis at the end of May.  The following details appeared in an article on www.edgelife.net:

Year of Tibet in Minnesota
In celebration and honor of the Tibetan community in the Twin Cities, the second largest such group in the United States, a festival entitled "2007: A Year of Tibet in Minnesota" will take place in May, featuring the Gyoto Monks of Tibet, the personal assistant to the Dalai Lama, a Tibetan Film Festival and a visit from Mrs. Jetsun Pema, sister of the Dalai Lama.

The Gyoto Monks of Tibet will be in the Cities May 11-21 to demonstrate their worship rituals, performing with flutes, horns, drums and unique multiphonic singing and chanting. The monks also are known for their intricate sand mandalas and butter sculptures, which will be created in front of live audiences at the Minnesota Institute of Art.

The keynote speaker will be the personal assistant to the Dalai Lama, Mrs. Jetsun Pema, sister of the Dalai Lama. She will be speaking at St. Catherine's on two occasions, and a local Tibetan dance group will perform a series of traditional folk dances in costume. Like her famous brother, the 14th Dalai Lama, Mrs. Pema is known for her personal warmth and wisdom. She has taken on the task of caring for the welfare of the thousands of orphaned and destitute children who continue to flee from oppression still imposed by the Chinese government.

THE CHOIR'S PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

Next Saturday: 8 p.m., Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis; tickets $15 ($10 for seniors and students); 612-333-1381 or www.mary.org.

May 13: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Minneapolis Institute of Art's Family Day; free.

May 20: 6:30 p.m., Center for Religious Inquiry at St. Mark's Cathedral, Minneapolis; tickets $15 ($10 for seniors and students); 612-870-7800 or www.religiousinquiry.com.

May 24: 7:30 p.m., Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis; tickets $15 in advance, $20 at door ($10 for students); 612-338-2674 or www.thecedar.com.

May 27: 7 p.m., St. Joan of Arc Church, Minneapolis; tickets $15 ($10 for seniors and students); 612-823-8205 or www.stjoan.com.

Pema will be keynote speaker at the following venues, which will also feature the choir:

May 29: 7 p.m., Children's Theatre, Minneapolis; tickets $22-$28 ($15 for children, seniors and students); 612-874-0400 or www.childrenstheatre.org.

May 31 and June 1: 7 p.m., Jeanne D'Arc Auditorium, College of St. Catherine, St. Paul; tickets $20; 651-690-6000 or www.ticketworks.org.

Schedule provided by an article in the Star Tribune.

 

Tibetan Film Festival - SAVE THE DATE!

Rime Foundation, along with several local sponsors, will be hosting a Tibetan Film Festival this week in the Twin Cities.  The event will kick-off Thursday evening May 10th with explorer Ann Bancroft as a guest speaker.  She will introduce the film Daughters of Everest and talk about her personal interest in Tibetan culture.  Activities include a Thursday night reception, an on-going silent auction and the opportunity to see several films about Tibetan culture and spirituality. In brief, the schedule is:

Thursday May 10th

7:15pm    Daughters of Everest
                    Introduced by North Pole Explorer Ann Bancroft

8:30pm    Opening Night Reception
                    Silent Auction & Free Wine and Food

Friday May 11th

5:15pm    Destroyer of Illusion and Spirit of Tibet: Journey to Enlightenment

7:30pm    10 Questions for the Dalai Lama

9:30pm    Tibet: A Buddhist Trilogy


Saturday May 12th

5:15pm    Words of My Perfect Teacher
               (One of my favorite films...)

7:30pm    Vajra Sky Over Tibet

9:30pm    Daughters of Tibet and Chasing Buddha


Sunday May 13th

5:15pm    Destroyer of Illusion and Lion's Roar

7:30pm    Milarepa Magician, Murderer, Saint

9:30pm    10 Questions for the Dalai Lama

Further details and tickets can be found at  www.rimefoundation.org/filmfest.htm