Part 1 of 3
Tibet House US: Overviewby Tibet House US
22 West 15th Street,
New York, NY 10011
P. 212-807-0563
F. 212-807-0565
© 2019 THUS. All rights reserved.
NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHTYOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ
THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.
"The CIA started Tibet House, using the Dalai Lama and his first ordained Western monk, [Robert] Thurman, now president of Tibet House in NYC, to do the job. Leila Luce is on the board of trustees of Tibet House, she is the wife of Henry Luce III, whose father founded Time and was an early supporter of the CIA, using Time magazine journalists as operatives. Mrs. Luce is also on the board of Tricycle. 'In 1992, she joined the board of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, for which she is also a consulting editor.' She has just been sued by her daughter and granddaughter for committing sexual abuses on her daughter and granddaughter."
-- Am Learning, aka Elsa Cloud (Victoria Barlow, Leila Luce's daughter)
Gyalo [Thondup, the Dalai Lama's brother] proved his abilities in another CIA-supported venture. Because the Dalai Lama had long desired the creation of a central Tibetan cultural institution, the agency supplied Gyalo with secret funds to assemble a collection of wall hangings -- called thankas -- and other art treasures from all the major Tibetan Buddhist sects. A plot of land was secured in the heart of New Delhi, and the Tibet House -- consisting of a museum, library, and emporium -- was officially opened in October 1965 by the Indian minister of education and the Dalai Lama. It remains a major attraction to this day.-- The CIA's Secret War in Tibet, by Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison
PATRON’S VISIONTibet House US was founded at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who at the inauguration in 1987 stated his wish for a long-term cultural institution to ensure the survival of Tibetan civilization and culture, whatever the political destiny of the six million people of Tibet itself.
“I feel that Tibetan culture with its unique heritage - –born of the efforts of many human beings of good spirit, of its contacts with Mongolian, Chinese, Indian, Nepalese and Persian culture, and of its natural environment -– has developed a kind of energy which is very helpful for cultivating peace of mind and a joyful life.
I feel that there is a potential for Tibet to help humanity, and particularly our Eastern neighbor, where millions of young Chinese have lost their spiritual values. In this way, I feel very strongly that Tibetan culture will have a role to play in the future of humanity.”
– His Holiness the Dalai Lama
MISSION AND HISTORYTibet House US is dedicated to preserving Tibet’s unique culture at a time when it is confronted with extinction on its own soil. By presenting Tibetan civilization and its profound wisdom, beauty, and special art of freedom to the people of the world, we hope to inspire others to join the effort to protect and save it.
Tibet House US is part of a worldwide network of Tibetan institutions committed to ensuring that the light of the Tibetan spirit never disappears from the face of this earth.
Tibet House US: The First 30 Years
*************************
Tibetan History
HISTORICAL SUMMARYThe Tibetan people are uniquely adapted to live on the one million square mile Tibetan plateau, the highest land-mass in the world, averaging 14,000 feet in altitude.
Politically, Tibet is an ancient nation with a recorded history dating back to 127 B.C.E. After uniting the plateau into a single country, the Tibetan Empire reached its peak during the 7th and 8th centuries, conquering parts of Nepal and India, the Silk Route states, and briefly even T’ang China. The Tibetan kings imported Buddhism from India from the 6th to the 9th century, and became so devoted to its teachings of nonviolence and enlightenment that they neglected their military empire.
In the 13th century, Tibet surrendered to the Mongols to avoid an invasion and became a tributary to the Mongol Empire until 1368. During China’s Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Tibet was completely independent under three Tibetan ruling houses.
In 1642, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama created the Ganden government, with a unique monastic/secular-coordinated administration. This government demilitarized Tibet and officially formed it into a spiritual nation that supported Buddhist education above all, and was economically self sufficient.
In foreign affairs, the Dalai Lama became the mentor of the new Manchu emperor of Manchuria and China, and received worldly protection for Tibet, in exchange for his providing spiritual teachings to the Manchurians and maintaining the peace with the Mongolians and Uighurs.
In 1904, the British invaded Tibet, to impose trade upon the Tibetan government, and to prevent Tibet’s coming under the protection of Russia.
In 1949 and 1950, the People’s Liberation Army of the People’s Republic of China invaded the eastern provinces of Amdo and Kham.
In 1951, when world governments, including India, England, and the US, declined to confirm Tibet’s inviolate national status, the Chinese government imposed the so-called “17-point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet” on the Tibetan government and soon after marched unopposed into the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. Resistance to the Chinese occupation escalated, particularly in eastern Tibet, and Chinese repression increased dramatically.
By 1959, popular uprisings led to a massacre of Tibetans in Lhasa; His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama was forced to flee to India for his safety, where he has lived in exile ever since with around 100,000 of his people. Since the invasion, an estimated 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed as a result of the Chinese occupation.
After escaping in 1959, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama established a democratic government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. In 1989, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his long-term efforts to resolve the Tibetan plight peacefully.
STATE OF THE DISUNION ADDRESS, BY THE 13TH DALAI LAMA [AKA THE 13TH DALAI LAMA'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AGAINST THE TYRANNY OF TIBET]I, the Dalai Lama, most omniscient possessor of the Buddhist faith, whose title was conferred by the Lord Buddha’s command from the glorious land of India, speak to you as follows:
I am speaking to all classes of Tibetan people….
A few years ago, the Chinese authorities in Szechuan and Yunnan endeavored to colonize our territory. They brought large numbers of troops into central Tibet on the pretext of policing the trade marts…. the existing relationship between Tibet and China had been that of patron and priest and had not been based on the subordination of one to the other…. I am now in the course of driving out the remnants of Chinese troops from DoKham in Eastern Tibet.… the patron-priest relationship has faded ….
Except for special persons, the administrators of monasteries are forbidden to trade, loan money, deal in any kind of livestock, and/or subjugate another’s subjects….
The Tibetan government’s civil and military officials, when collecting taxes or dealing with their subject citizens, should carry out their duties with fair and honest judgment so as to benefit the government without hurting the interests of the subject citizens. Some of the central government officials posted at Ngari Korsum in western Tibet, and Do Kham in eastern Tibet, are coercing their subject citizens to purchase commercial goods at high prices and have imposed transportation rights exceeding the limit permitted by the government. Houses, properties and lands belonging to subject citizens have been confiscated on the pretext of minor breaches of the law. Furthermore, the amputation of citizens’ limbs has been carried out as a form of punishment. Henceforth, such severe punishments are forbidden…..
We are a small, religious, and independent nation….. To safeguard and maintain the independence of our country, one and all should voluntarily work hard. Our subject citizens residing near the borders should be alert and keep the government informed by special messenger of any suspicious developments. Our subjects must not create major clashes between two nations because of minor incidents.
Tibet, although thinly populated, is an extensive country. Some local officials and landholders are jealously obstructing other people from developing vacant lands, even though they are not doing so themselves. People with such intentions are enemies of the State and our progress. From now on, no one is allowed to obstruct anyone else from cultivating whatever vacant lands are available. Land taxes will not be collected until three years have passed; after that the land cultivator will have to pay taxes to the government and to the landlord every year, proportionate to the rent. The land will belong to the cultivator…..
Your duties to the government and to the people will have been achieved when you have executed all that I have said here.
-- State of the Disunion Address, by the 13th Dalai Lama
TIBETAN DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCEThe Manchu army sent troops to Tibet in 1909, prompting the 13th Dalai Lama to escape to India. However, as the Manchu dynasty succumbed to a Chinese revolution, Tibetans seized the moment and expelled the Manchu troops from Tibet. China’s provisional President, Yuan Shikai, sent a telegram to the 13th Dalai Lama, restoring his earlier titles. The Dalai Lama spurned these titles, replying that he “intended to exercise both temporal and ecclesiastical rule in Tibet.”
Then, the 13th Dalai Lama returned to Tibet and issued a proclamation to mark the restoration of Tibetan independence.
Tibetan Declaration of Independence
Proclamation Issued by His Holiness the 13th Dalai Lama in 1913PROCLAMATION ISSUED BY H.H. THE DALAI LAMA XIII, ON THE EIGHTH DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH OF THE WATER-OX YEAR (1913)
Translation of the Tibetan TextI, the Dalai Lama, most omniscient possessor of the Buddhist faith, whose title was conferred by the Lord Buddha’s command from the glorious land of India, speak to you as follows:I am speaking to all classes of Tibetan people. Lord Buddha, from the glorious country of India, prophesied that the reincarnations of Avalokitesvara, through successive rulers from the early religious kings to the present day, would look after the welfare of Tibet.
During the time of Genghis Khan and Altan Khan of the Mongols, the Ming dynasty of the Chinese, and the Ch’ing Dynasty of the Manchus, Tibet and China cooperated on the basis of benefactor and priest relationship. A few years ago, the Chinese authorities in Szechuan and Yunnan endeavored to colonize our territory. They brought large numbers of troops into central Tibet on the pretext of policing the trade marts. I, therefore, left Lhasa with my ministers for the Indo-Tibetan border, hoping to clarify to the Manchu emperor by wire that the existing relationship between Tibet and China had been that of patron and priest and had not been based on the subordination of one to the other. There was no other choice for me but to cross the border, because Chinese troops were following with the intention of taking me alive or dead.
On my arrival in India, I dispatched several telegrams to the Emperor; but his reply to my demands was delayed by corrupt officials at Peking. Meanwhile, the Manchu empire collapsed. The Tibetans were encouraged to expel the Chinese from central Tibet.
I, too, returned safely to my rightful and sacred country, and I am now in the course of driving out the remnants of Chinese troops from DoKham in Eastern Tibet. Now, the Chinese intention of colonizing Tibet under the patron-priest relationship has faded like a rainbow in the sky. Having once again achieved for ourselves a period of happiness and peace, I have now allotted to all of you the following duties to be carried out without negligence:
1.
Peace and happiness in this world can only be maintained by preserving the faith of Buddhism. It is, therefore, essential to preserve all Buddhist institutions in Tibet, such as the Jokhang temple and Ramoche in Lhasa, Samye, and Traduk in southern Tibet, and the three great monasteries, etc.
2. The various Buddhist sects in Tibet should be kept in a distinct and pure form.
Buddhism should be taught, learned, and meditated upon properly. Except for special persons, the administrators of monasteries are forbidden to trade, loan money, deal in any kind of livestock, and/or subjugate another’s subjects.
3. The Tibetan government’s civil and military officials, when collecting taxes or dealing with their subject citizens, should carry out their duties with fair and honest judgment so as to benefit the government without hurting the interests of the subject citizens. Some of the central government officials posted at Ngari Korsum in western Tibet, and Do Kham in eastern Tibet, are coercing their subject citizens to purchase commercial goods at high prices and have imposed transportation rights exceeding the limit permitted by the government. Houses, properties and lands belonging to subject citizens have been confiscated on the pretext of minor breaches of the law. Furthermore, the amputation of citizens’ limbs has been carried out as a form of punishment. Henceforth, such severe punishments are forbidden.
4. Tibet is a country with rich natural resources; but it is not scientifically advanced like other lands.
We are a small, religious, and independent nation. To keep up with the rest of the world, we must defend our country. In view of past invasions by foreigners, our people may have to face certain difficulties, which they must disregard. To safeguard and maintain the independence of our country, one and all should voluntarily work hard.
Our subject citizens residing near the borders should be alert and keep the government informed by special messenger of any suspicious developments. Our subjects must not create major clashes between two nations because of minor incidents.
5. Tibet, although thinly populated, is an extensive country.
Some local officials and landholders are jealously obstructing other people from developing vacant lands, even though they are not doing so themselves. People with such intentions are enemies of the State and our progress. From now on, no one is allowed to obstruct anyone else from cultivating whatever vacant lands are available. Land taxes will not be collected until three years have passed; after that the land cultivator will have to pay taxes to the government and to the landlord every year, proportionate to the rent. The land will belong to the cultivator.
Your duties to the government and to the people will have been achieved when you have executed all that I have said here. This letter must be posted and proclaimed in every district of Tibet, and a copy kept in the records of the offices in every district.From the Potala Palace.
(Seal of the Dalai Lama)
Source (and further reading):
Tibet: A Political History, Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa, New Haven, 1967, pp. 246-248.
CONTEMPORARY SITUATIONHistorical Tibet consisted of three provinces, U-Tsang, Kham, and Amdo, filling the one million square miles of the Tibetan plateau. The Chinese annexed the whole of Amdo and most of Kham, incorporating the land into bordering Chinese provinces. The remaining area, the Tibetan U-Tsang province and part of Kham, has been renamed the “Tibet Autonomous Region.”
The “Tibet Autonomous Region” is about one third the size of the original Tibet, and it is this area alone that China officially refers to as “Tibet.” This explains why, although Tibetans count themselves as 6 million people, the Chinese often set the number at 2 million.
CULTURAL DESTRUCTIONBy 1969, approximately 6,250 monasteries, the cultural centers of Tibetan life, had been destroyed. In the 1980’s, some were rebuilt and re-opened, but the Chinese authorities tightly control activities in these monasteries, forcing individual monks and nuns to apply for a permit in order to join.
Strict regulations require an oath of allegiance to communist ideals. Devotion to, and even photographs of, His Holiness the Dalai Lama are banned both inside and outside the monasteries.
Prisons and labor camps are among the most common methods of persecution. Numerous Tibetans have perished from starvation and hard labor while in captivity.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEVASTATIONTibet’s high plains, forests, and mountains form a unique high altitude ecosystem.
With an average elevation of 14,000 feet, Tibet is literally the highest nation on earth.
Five of Asia’s great rivers, including the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra), Senge Khabab (Indus), the Langchen Khabab (Sutlej), the Macha Khabab (Karnali), Arun (Phongchu), the Gyalmo Ngulchu (Salween), the Zachu (Mekong), the Drichu (Yangtse) and Machu (Huang he or Yellow River), flow from Tibet into China, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This river system, of rivers and their tributaries, are the life blood of billions of people on the Asian.
More than 15,000 natural lakes are also found in Tibet. Some of the prominent lakes are Tso Ngonpo (Kokonor lake) being the largest, Mapham Yumtso (Mansarovar), Namtso, and Yamdrok Tso. Research figures show that rivers originating from Tibet sustain the lives of 47% of the world’s population, and 85% of Asia’s total population. Thus, the environmental issues affecting Tibet are not inconsequential regional issues, but have global significance warranting international attention. More than ever before, the need to save the Tibetan Plateau from ecological devastation is urgent. It is not only the question of the survival of Tibetans, but the survival of half of humanity.
Tibet’s forest cover totaled 25.2 million hectares. Most forests grow on steppes, isolated slopes of above 35 degrees in the river valleys of Tibet’s low lying southeastern region. The principle types of flora are tropical Montana and subtropical Montana coniferous forests, with evergreen spruce, fir, pine, larch, cypress, birch and oak among the main species.
Tibet also had rich and untapped mineral resources. It has deposits of about 126 different minerals accounting for a significant share of the entire world’s reserves of gold, lithium, uranium, chromite, copper, borax and iron. Tibet has the largest high-grade uranium deposit in the world. Amdo’s oil fields produce over 1 million tons of crude oil per year.
Tibet’s high plains, forests and mountains form a unique ecosystem on the planet and are home to an array of rare wildlife, including the snow leopard, clouded leopard, lynx, Tibetan takin [goat-antelope], Himalayan black bear, brown bear, wild yak (drong), blue sheep, musk deer, golden monkey, wild ass (Kyang), Tibetan gazelle, Himalayan mouse hare, Tibetan antelope, giant panda, red panda and others. This ecosystem and many of its species are now endangered.
In Tibet, there are over 532 different species of birds in 57 families. Some of them include stork, wild swan, Blyth’s kingfisher, goose, jungle flycatcher, redstart, finch, grey-dided thrush, Przewalski’s parrotbill, wagtail, chickadee, large-billed bush warbler, bearded vulture, woodpecker and beautiful nuthatch. The most famous and rare bird is the black-necked crane called trung trung kaynak in Tibetan.
Over 100,000 species of higher plants used to grow in Tibet, many of them rare and endemic. The plant species also include about 2,000 varieties of medicinal plants used in the traditional medical systems of Tibet, China and India. Rhododendron, saffron, bottle-brush, high mountain rhubarb, Himalayan alpine serratula, falconer tree and hellebonne are among the many plants found in Tibet. There are altogether 400 species of rhododendron on the Tibetan Planteau, which make up about 50 percent of the world’s total species. According to Wu and Feng (1992), the Tibetan Plateau is home to over 12,000 species of 1,500 genera of vascular plants.
The Chinese authorities have systematically exploited Tibet’s natural resources, devastating Tibet’s ancient forests and unique wildlife, mining minerals and precious herbs, and using the Tibetan plateau as a nuclear dump site. Construction of the recently completed railway into Lhasa further compromises this naturally fragile ecosystem. The rapid influx of tourists, miners, and Chinese immigrants that the train enables, will continue the trend of environmental destruction unless dramatic steps are taken to protect the land and its resources.
MILITARY INSTALLATIONSConstruction by the Chinese of military installations throughout Tibet, especially within border areas, is increasing. These military bases wreak their own havoc on the delicate mountain and high plateau ecosystems. Their effect on Tibetans attempting to flee to safety outside Tibet or to visit their spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in India, is even more profound. Chinese border patrols stationed at these military bases routinely shoot at Tibetan refugees or arrest them for trying to leave the country, making the naturally arduous passage over high mountains to Nepal even more dangerous.
POPULATION TRANSFERThe most serious threat facing Tibetans is the systematic transfer of Chinese colonists into Tibet. Prior to 1949, there were very few Chinese in Tibet, and most of them were merchants.
More than 8 million Chinese have now settled in Tibet, a population transfer that threatens to overwhelm the remaining 6 million Tibetans and their distinct ancient Buddhist culture.
*************************
FACULTY & FRIENDSSince our founding in 1987, Tibet House US has been fortunate to have the support and participation of many of the world’s experts on Buddhism, meditation, Tibetan medicine and science, and Tibetan art and culture.
If we have omitted any past teachers, artists or workshop leaders from the list below, please let us know so we can add them.
Jensine Andresen, Ph.D.[x]
JENSINE ANDRESEN, PH.D.Jensine Andresen (Ph.D., Harvard University, 1997) is a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Religion at Columbia University in NYC. She previously taught at comparative world religions and religion and science at both Boston University and the University of Vermont.
At Boston University, where the ‘Issues for the Millennium’ conference took place, Dr. Andresen taught in the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Science, Philosophy, and Religion. Her research there focused on bioethics as it relates to social justice and humanitarian concerns, such as those that surround the AIDS crisis in Africa and the world. Her work at BU addressed the interface of theology and public policy as it relates to xenotransplantation, gene therapy, human cloning, stem cell research, and intellectual property rights. Also while at BU, she conducted research on the role of the frontal lobes in mediating the relationship between spirituality and health. While at BU, Dr. Andresen served as Director of InterFASE (International Faith & Science Exchange), an organization committed to furthering dialogue between science and religion in the Boston area and elsewhere throughout the world.
At Columbia University, Dr. Andresen has been focusing on developing a psychoanalytic interpretation of Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana doctrine and practice as she has worked on translating the Sanskrit commentary on a medieval Indian Buddhist Vajrayana text called the Srilaghu Kalacakratantra. She has also worked extensively on the relationship between the phenomenology of contemplation in the Tibetan ‘Rdzgoschen’ (Great Perfection) system as it relates to contemporary findings in physics. Combining psychoanalytic, postmodern, and phenomenological approaches to the encounter of so-called self and other, she works to understand the interpenetrative arising of cosmology, biology, and awareness.
Publications:
Cognitive Models and Spiritual Maps: Interdisciplinary Explorations of Religious Experience with Robert K. C. Foreman Religion in Mind: Cognitive Perspectives on Religious Belief, Ritual, and Experience.
Stephen Batchelor[x]
STEPHEN BATCHELORStephen Batchelor is a contemporary Buddhist teacher and writer, best known for his secular or agnostic approach to Buddhism. Stephen considers Buddhism to be a constantly evolving culture of awakening rather than a religious system based on immutable dogmas and beliefs. In particular, he regards the doctrines of karma and rebirth to be features of ancient Indian civilization and not intrinsic to what the Buddha taught. Buddhism has survived for the past 2,500 years because of its capacity to reinvent itself in accord with the needs of the different Asian societies with which it has creatively interacted throughout its history. As Buddhism encounters modernity, it enters a vital new phase of its development. Through his writings, translations and teaching, Stephen engages in a critical exploration of Buddhism’s role in the modern world, which has earned him both condemnation as a heretic and praise as a reformer.
Stephen was born in Dundee, Scotland, on April 7, 1953. After completing his education at Watford Grammar School, he travelled overland to India in February, 1972, at the age of eighteen. He settled in Dharamsala, the capital-in-exile of the Dalai Lama, and studied at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives with Ven. Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. He was ordained as a novice Buddhist monk in 1974. He left India in 1975 and studied in Switzerland, Germany and then South Korea. He remained in Korea until the autumn of 1984, when he left for a pilgrimage to Japan, China and Tibet.
He disrobed in February 1985 and married Martine Fages in Hong Kong before returning to England and joining the Sharpham North Community in Totnes, Devon, where he became coordinator of the Sharpham Trust and co-founder of the Sharpham College for Buddhist Studies and Contemporary Enquiry.
In August 2000, he and Martine moved to Aquitaine, France, where they live in a small village near Bordeaux with their cat Alex. While at home he pursues his work as a scholar, writer and artist. For several months each year, he travels worldwide to lead meditation retreats and teach Buddhism.
Personal web-site:
Stephen Batchelor
Other web-sites:
http://www.audiodharma.org/talks/StephenBatchelor.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Batchelorhttp://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j20/batchelor.asphttp://www.hermitary.com/solitude/batchelor.htmlhttp://www.westernchanfellowship.org/ag ... dhist.htmlBibliography:
Living with the Devil: A Meditation on Good and Evil. New York: Riverhead Books, 2004.
Verses from the Center: A Buddhist Vision of the Sublime. New York: Riverhead, 2000.
Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening. New York: Riverhead, 1997. UK edition: London: Bloomsbury, 1998.<
The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture. London: Aquarian Press/ Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1994.
The Faith to Doubt: Glimpses of Buddhist Uncertainty. Berkeley: Parallax Press
The Tibet Guide. London/Boston, 1987. .
Alone With Others: An Existential Approach to Buddhism. New York: Grove Press, 1983.
Translator (from Tibetan)
Geshe Rabten. Song of the Profound View. London/Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1989.
Geshe Rabten. The Mind and its Functions: A Textbook of Buddhist Epistemology and Psychology. Mt. Pelerin, Switzerland: Rabten Choeling, 1991.
Geshe Rabten. Echoes of Voidness. London/Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1983. Italian translation: Le Tre Vie per la Realizzazione della Vacuita. Rome: Ubaldini Editore, 1985.
German translation: Essenz der Weisheit. Hamburg, Dharma, 1990.
Shantideva. A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. Dharamsala, India: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1979.
Thomas Berry[x]
Thomas Berry was born in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1914. From his academic beginnings as a historian of world cultures and religions, Berry developed into a historian of the Earth and its evolutionary processes. He describes himself as a “geologian”.
Berry received his Ph.D. in European Intellectual History with a thesis on Giambattista Vico’s philosophy of history. Widely read in Western history, he also spent many years studying the cultural history of Asia. He has lived in China and traveled to other parts of Asia. He authored two books on Asian religions, Buddhism and Religions of India. For two decades, he directed the Riverdale Center of Religious Research along the Hudson River.
“The basic mood of the future might well be one of confidence in the continuing revelation that takes place in and through the Earth. If the dynamics of the Universe from the beginning shaped the course of the heavens, lighted the sun, and formed the Earth, if this same dynamism brought forth the continents and the seas and atmosphere, if it awakened life in the primordial cell and then brought into being the unnumbered variety of living beings, and finally brought us into being and guided us safely through the turbulent centuries, there is reason to believe that this same guiding process is precisely what has awakened in us our present understanding of ourselves and our relation to this stupendous process. Sensitized to such guidance from the very structure and functioning of the Universe, we can have confidence in the future that awaits the human venture.” — “The New Story” The Dream of the Earth
Personal Website:
Thomas Berry.com
Other Websites:
http://www.earthlight.org/mfoxontberry.htmlhttp://www.astepback.com/12principles.htmThomas Berry on Apps Voices
http://www.earth-community.org/Publications:
Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community
Dream of the Earth
The Great Work
The Universe Story (with Brian Swimme)
Buddhism
Religions of India
Alexander Berzin[x]
ALEXANDER BERZINAlexander Berzin, born in 1944 in Paterson, New Jersey, he was educated in America before studying in Dharamsala on a Fulbright Scholarship. There he practiced with masters from all four Tibetan Buddhist traditions. His main teacher was Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche, the late Master Debate Partner and Assistant Tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He served as his interpreter and secretary for nine years, accompanying him on several world tours. He has also served as occasional Dharma interpreter for His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
A founding member of the Translation Bureau of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Berzin has developed a new terminology for translating, into English, Tibetan technical terms that have often been misunderstood.
Since 1983, Berzin has been traveling around the world, teaching various aspects of Buddhist practice and philosophy, as well as Tibetan-Mongolian history and astro-medical theory, at Dharma centers and universities in more than seventy countries. His work has involved him with a Tibetan medical aid program for Chernobyl victims, a project in Mongolia to produce Buddhism books in the local, colloquial language as well as establishing and furthering a Buddhist-Islamic dialogue.
He currently lives in Berlin, Germany.
Personal website:
Alexander Berzin
Other websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Berzinhttp://www.congress-on-buddhist-women.o ... php?id=101Publications:
Wisdom Energy : Basic Buddhist Teachings: by Jonathan Landaw, Alexander Berzin, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Thubten Yeshe, Lama Yeshe, Rinpoche Thubten Zopa
Relating to a Spiritual Teacher : Building a Healthy Relationship cover Relating to a Spiritual Teacher : Building a Healthy Relationship
Developing Balanced Sensitivity : Practical Buddhist Exercises for Daily Life
Kalachakra and Other Six-Session Yoga Texts
Taking the Kalachakra Initiation cover Taking the Kalachakra Initiation
The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra cover The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra
Russia’s Tibet File : The Unknown Pages in the History of Tibet’s Independence
Wisdom Energy : Basic Buddhist Teachings cover Wisdom Energy : Basic Buddhist Teachings
Cristina Biaggi, PhD[x]
CRISTINA BIAGGI, PHDTo her work as an artist, sculptor, writer and lecturer on the Great Goddess, Dr. Cristina Biaggi brings a strong background in the classics, art and art history, archaeology, literature, and languages acquired at Vassar College, Harvard University, the University of Mexico City, the University of Utah, and New York University. She has taught Art History, Sculpture, Mythology and Drawing and is world-renowned for her contribution to the field of Goddess-centered art and scholarly studies.
Dr. Biaggi’s work reflects her strong desire to provide women today with an opportunity to experience a connection with the Goddess within themselves. It is her hope that she will motivate women to seek to build a more peaceful and caring society.
Dr. Biaggi’s work has been exhibited throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States. Her one-woman exhibitions number more than twenty, among them the “Womenís Beijing Sphere and Other Spheres” (1996), “Painting with My Granddaughter” (1995), which was recognized by The New York Times, and “Images of the Dark Goddess,” her one-woman exhibition at Manhattan’s Phoenix Gallery. She also exhibits at Ceres Gallery in New York City.
Personal website:
cristinabiaggi.com
Other websites:
http://www.sculpture.org/portfolio/scul ... id=1000228http://www.gimbutas.org/marija/bios/cri ... iaggi.htmlhttp://www.ceresgallery.org/biaggi.htmlPublications:
The Rule of Mars: Readings on the Origins, History and Impact of Patriarchy
Habitations of the Great Goddess
In the Footsteps of the Goddess
Joseph Bobrow[x]
JOSEPH BOBROWJoseph Bobrow is the founder and president of the Coming Home Project and Deep Streams Zen Institute. A Zen master in the Diamond Sangha tradition, he is also a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. Joseph writes on Zen, psychotherapy, and the interplay of Western psychology, Buddhism, and the beloved community in transforming suffering.
He is a licensed psychologist in private practice in San Francisco and a faculty member and supervisory and personal analyst at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California. A Zen master in the Aitken-Harada tradition, he has been teaching Zen since 1987. He also studied with Thich Nhat Hanh in the early 1980’s at Plum Village in southern France, where he co-translated Nhat Hanh’s Guide To Walking Meditation.
His writings explore Buddhism, psychoanalysis, and their interplay in relieving suffering and helping us realize and embody our true nature. He is the founder of Deep Streams Zen Institute, which offers Zen practice; provides continuing education for mental health practitioners, drawing on Buddhism (including Vipassana and Tibetan traditions), the creative arts, and leading edge science; and serves the community through innovative peace-building programs.
Joseph Bobrow is a faculty member and personal/supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California, and a member of the International Psychoanalytic Association. He teaches throughout the United States.
Personal website:
http://www.deepstreams.org/Other websites:
http://www.dharmaweb.org/index.php/Joseph_Bobrowhttp://www.bpf.org/html/resources_and_l ... obrow.htmlPublications:
A Guide to Walking Meditation, co-translator. Thich Nhat Hanh.
The Jewel of Liberation: Zen writings and Talks.
Coming to Life: The Creative Intercourse of Psychoanalysis and Zen Buddhism; in Soul on the Couch: Spirituality, Religion, and Morality in Contemporary Psychoanalysis.
The Fertile Mind; in The Couch and the Tree: Dialogues in Psychoanalysis and Buddhism.
Reverie in Psychoanalysis and Zen: Harvesting The Ordinary.
Psychoanalysis, Mysticism and the Incommunicado Core, Fort Da, Journal of the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology.
Moments of Truth — Truths of Moment; in Psychoanalysis and Buddhism – An Evolving Dialogue.
John Brzostoski[x]
JOHN BRZOSTOSKIJohn Brzostoski, painter, writer, lecturer, curator of the Tibetan art collection of the Riverside Museum, and founder and director of the Center of Oriental Studies, has taught Buddhist and Oriental philosophy and art as well as contemporary art since 1950.
In addition, he is a cartoonist, graphic novelist and folk teller. Among his projects is “bLama Quest – An Adventure of Tibet”, a graphic novel that tells the tale of a spiritual seeker in Tibet and his quest for enlightenment through a series of adventures and seemingly non-interrelated mishaps.
Website:
John Brzostoski
Ven. Chagdud Rinpoche[x]
VEN. CHAGDUD RINPOCHEH.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (1930-2002) is a renowned teacher of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche is the fourteenth recognized Chagdud incarnation. Chagdud means “iron knot,” and is said to derive from one Sherab Gyaltsan, the first Chagdud incarnation, who folded an iron sword into a knot with his bare hands. This feat deeply impressed the emperor of Mongolia and inspired him to shower honors on Chagdud. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche demonstrated the same extraordinary power several times in his youth when he compressed stout swords into folds.
Following Tibet’s invasion by China in 1959, Chagdud spent twenty years in India and Nepal working as a doctor and teaching in the refugee camps. In 1979 he traveled to America to establish the Dharma and the Red Tara practice as foretold in a dream. He was responsible for bringing many high Lamas and yogis to the west. In 1995 he settled in Brazil, where he lived until his miraculous death.
As well as the original Gonpa in Nyagrong, Eastern Tibet, more than 38 Dharma centers have been established under Chagdud Tulku’s supervision and inspiration, in America, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Switzerland and Australia. The best known are Rigzin Ling in Junction City, California and Khadro Ling, his main center in Três Coroas, Brazil.
Websites:
Chagdud Gonpa Foundation – North America
CHAGDUD GONPA AMRITA
Publications:
Lord of the Dance, Chagdud Rinpoche’s autobiography, Padma Publishing
Delog: Realms Beyond Death, by Delog Dawa Drolma, Padma Publishing
Gates to Buddhist Practice, Padma Publishing
Life in Relation to Death, Padma Publishing
Change of Heart, Padma Publishing
Dr. Tenzin Choedrak[x]
DR. TENZIN CHOEDRAKDr. Tenzin Choedrak was born in 1924 at Ringpung Dzong, Shigatse, Tibet, and is one of the most eminent masters of the Tibetan medical tradition. After the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959 he was imprisoned by the Communist Chinese for nearly 22 years. He managed to flee and arrived in Dharamsala in 1980. Dr. Choedrak is presently the Senior Personal Physician to His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as the Chief Doctor and Director of Men-Tsee-Khang’s Pharmaceutical Department. Dr. Choedrak first visited the West in 1984 to attend an international conference on Tibetan medicine held in Venice, Italy, followed by a visit to the United States. In 1987, he visited New York, Washington, D.C., Phoenix and San Francisco to investigate the possibility of creating a scientific research program to test the effectiveness of Tibetan medicine in treating various diseases such as cancer, hepatitis, arthritis and AIDS. In the following years, he visited France, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Mongolia, Japan, and Mexico for medical consultations, lectures, seminars and exhibitions on Tibetan medicine. A medical team headed by Dr. Choedrak conducted the first Men-Tsee-Khang exhibition of Tibetan medicine, astronomy and astrology in 12 cities in 8 European countries in 1995 and later, in 1997, repeated this exhibition in 8 cities in the United States. In 1998 Dr. Choedrak visited France, Canada and the United States for medical consultations and lectures.
Other websites:
buddhapia.com
Publications:
The Rainbow Palace by Tenzin Choedrak and Gilles van Grasdorff
Ven. Thubten Chodron[x]
VEN. THUBTEN CHODRONBorn in 1950, Thubten Chodron grew up near Los Angeles. She graduated with a B.A. in History from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1971. After travelling through Europe, North Africa and Asia, she received a teaching credential and went to the University of Southern California to do post-graduate work in Education while working as a teacher in the Los Angeles City School System.
In 1975, she attended a meditation course given by Ven. Lama Yeshe and Ven. Zopa Rinpoche, and subsequently went to their monastery in Nepal to continue to study and practice Buddha’s teachings. In 1977, she received the sramanerika (novice) ordination, and in 1986, received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan.
She studied and practiced Buddhism of the Tibetan tradition for many years in India and Nepal under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhap Serkong Rinpoche, Zopa Rinpoche and other Tibetan masters for many years. Ven. Chodron currently travels worldwide to teach the Dharma. She founded Sravasti Abbey in Washington State and is currently involved in developing it. She also works with prison inmates and hosts an ongoing collection of their writings on her ‘Prison Dharma’ webpage.
Ven. Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well-known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings.
Personal website:
thubtenchodron.org
Other websites:
http://www.sravastiabbey.org/http://www.monasticdialog.com/a.php?id=420Publications:
Open heart, clear mind
Buddhism for beginners
Taming the Mind
How to Free Your Mind: Tara the Liberator
Transforming Adversity into Joy and Courage
Working with anger (by Snowlion)
Transforming problems
Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path
Guided meditations on the Lamrim
Pearl of wisdom (book I)
Pearl of wisdom (book II)
A chat about Heruka
A chat about Yamantaka
Heruka body mandala
The yoga method of Chenrezig: sadhana and commentary
Cultivating a Compassionate Heart: The Yoga Method of Chenrezig
Preparing for ordination
Choosing simplicity
Ven. Za Choejay RinpocheVEN. ZA CHOEJAY RINPOCHE
Za Choeje Rinpoche was identified by H.H. the Dalai Lama as the sixth reincarnation of ZaChoeje Rinpoche. At the age of 16 he entered Drepung Loseling Monastery where, after ten years of study, he graduated with the Geshe Lharampa degree and continued his studies at Gyume Tantric College in India. Rinpoche first came to the U.S. in 1998 as leader of the Mystical Arts of Tibet Tour and remained to lecture on Tibetan culture and philosophy at Emory University. In 2001, together with friends and students, he established Emaho Foundation of Scottsdale, Arizona where he is the resident teacher.
Za Choeje Rinpoche gave a Green Tara empowerment in Amherst in November 2005 following the White Tara Mandala Ceremony with the monks of Drepung Loseling at the University of Massachusetts.
Other websites:
http://www.manjushriinstitute.org/staff.htmlhttp://ancienthealing.org/general/za-rinpoche.phpZa Choeje Rinpoche on Buddhist Library
Publications:
The Backdoor to Enlightenment; Eight Steps to Living Your Dreams and Changing Your World by Za Rinpoche and Ashley Nebelsieck
Deepak Chopra, M.D.[x]
DEEPAK CHOPRA, M.D.Deepak Chopra is one of the leading mind-body spirit Gurus. He seeks to teach the benefits of incorporating meditation and a healthy lifestyle for increasing inner happiness.
Deepak Chopra was born in New Dehli, India in 1947. He attended the All India Institute of Medical sciences studying western medicine. In 1968 he came to America and began working in a New Jersey hospital. This led to a successful career in medicine in which he became chief of staff at the New England Memorial Hospital. He also established a growing private medical practice. During this time Deepak Chopra says that he used to smoke a packet of cigarettes a day and also he used to drink heavily to calm his nerves. Increasingly he became uneasy at his approach to life and also he became aware of the limitations of Western medicine. He felt there was something missing in his approach to medical care. Therefore he increasingly became interested in Ayurvedic medicine, which stresses a more holistic approach to medical care.
After studying the ancient Indian system of ayurveda and yoga in 1995 He founded the The Chopra Center for Well Being in California. This serves as a vehicle for spreading his message of alternative medicine and holistic well being. He sees his mission as “bridging the technological miracles of the west with the wisdom of the east”
His main teaching and beliefs are that to attain happiness we need to consider several things. Firstly we should find time for meditation and silencing the mind. This helps us to avoid negative emotions and thoughts. Deepak stresses that negative emotions are like toxins just like bad food could be. He also teaches that we should try to listen to the signals of our body and develop our intuition. With regard to physical health he says there is a close connection between our physical health and our state of mind. This is why he is often associated as one of the pre-eminent leaders of the mind body spirit movement.
Personal website:
http://deepakchopra.com/http://www.chopra.com/Publications:
Creating Health
The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing
The Path to Love: Renewing the Power of Spirit in Your Life
The Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents: Guiding Your Children to Success and Fulfillment
Everyday Immortality: A Concise Course in Spiritual Transformation
Lords of Light: A Novel
The Angel is Near: A Novel 2000 How to Know God : The Soul’s Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries
The Deeper Wound: Recovering the Soul from Fear and Suffering, 100 Days of Healing
Grow Younger, Live Longer: 10 Steps to Reverse Aging ISBN 0-609-60079-6
Manifesting Good Luck Cards: Growth and Enlightenment
Golf for Enlightenment: The Seven Lessons for the Game of Life
The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence ISBN 0-609-60042-7
Synchrodestiny: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles ISBN 1-84413-221-8
Manifesting Good Luck: Love and Relationships, 50 Card Deck
The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life ISBN 0-517-70624-5
Fire in the Heart: A Spiritual Guide for Teens ISBN 0-689-86216-4
Peace Is the Way : Bringing War and Violence to an End ISBN 0-307-23607-2
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga: A Practical Guide to Healing Body, Mind, and Spirit
Ask The Kabala: Oracle Cards/Kabala Guidebook ISBN 978-1401910396
Power Freedom and Grace: Living from the Source of Lasting Happiness ISBN 978-1-878424-81-5
Life After Death: The Burden of Proof ISBN 0-307-34578-5
Kama Sutra: Including the Seven Spiritual Laws of Love ISBN 978-1-852273-85-9
Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment ISBN 978-0-06-087880-1
The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore ISBN 978-0-307-33831-0
Why Is God Laughing? The Path to Joy and Spiritual Optimism
Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment ISBN 978-0061448737
Lindsey & Bobby Clennell[x]
LINDSEY & BOBBY CLENNELLBobby Clennell has practiced yoga since 1975 and taught since 1977. She has studied in India B. K. S. Iyengar her primary teacher.
In 1991, after working in film animation in London for 20 years, she moved to New York. Incorporating her skills as an animator and illustrator, she has written and illustrated three yoga manuals: Props and Ailments, detailing the therapeutic applications of Iyengar Yoga props; Iyengar Yoga Glossary, an introduction to the unique “language” of Iyengar Yoga; and A Cosmic Body Map, a key to the Vedic gods, their location and function within the body, and their mythological significance.
Bobby is experienced in using yoga for therapeutic purposes, including fertility and prenatal needs. Her newest book, A Woman’s Yoga Practice: Poses for the Menstrual Cycle, is to be published in 2006.
“In my teaching, I try to help students restore the balance between the constant pull of the external world and our own—oftentimes neglected—individual world,” she says. “Yoga helps us operate on a quieter, less ego-driven path.”
Describing Chaturanga Dandasana as one of her more challenging poses, she says, “All of us face challenges in our individual practice. Have faith and give Iyengar Yoga a chance.”
Lindsey Clennell
Lindsey Clennell has studied yoga since 1970 and taught Iyengar Yoga since 1977with B. K. S. Iyengar, his primary teacher, and the Iyengar family.
Originally a medical student in England, he became a documentary filmmaker and writer, producing and directing more than 200 music videos, concert series, and specials. Among his subjects were Muhammad Ali and Mikhail Gorbachev among others.
Reflecting on one of his last film projects—which led to the release of 30 American hostages before the first Gulf War—Lindsey cites a favorite quote from Sri Aurobindo: “All life is yoga.” Since retiring from film, in 1991, Lindsey has focused solely on Iyengar Yoga and its physical and psychological healing effects. A student of philosophy, Lindsey imparts the in-depth teachings of B. K. S. Iyengar’s presentation of Patanjali’s Astanga Yoga.
“Iyengar Yoga enables students to envision new possibilities,” he says. “It gives them a process for discovery and evolution.” He advises new students to be realistic and to “start with a short but regular practice.”
Personal website:
Bobby Clennell
Other websites:
http://www.iyengarnyc.org/faculty.htmlhttp://www.rodmellpress.com/womansyoga_author.htmlPublications:
The Woman’s Yoga Book: Asana and Pranayama for All Phases of the Menstrual Cycle by Bobby Clennell and Geeta S. Iyengar
George Crane[x]
GEORGE CRANEGeorge Crane is a traveler and seeker. His journeys have taken him to inner Mongolia, Europe and Tibet. His work has a mixture of travel experiences, poetry, translation and oral storytelling.
Publications:
Pasiglot System, an Entirely New Practical and Theoretical Introduction
Beyond the House of the False Lama : Travels with Monks, Nomads, and Outlaws
Aidan’s Way : The Story of a Boy’s Life and a Father’s Journey
Bones of the Master : A Journey to Secret Mongolia
Howard Cutler, MD[x]
Samten Dakpa[x]
Rev. John Dear[x]
REV. JOHN DEARRev. John Dear is a peace activist and supporter of nuclear disarmament. He has served as executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest and oldest interfaith peace organization in the United States; worked in soup kitchens, shelters and community centers; traveled to war zones around the world, including most recently Iraq; lived in El Salvador, Guatemala and Northern Ireland.
He has been arrested 75 times in acts of civil disobedience and spent nearly a year in jail for a Plowshares disarmament in which he and friends symbolically hammered an F-15E nuclear bomber on Seymour Johnson Airforce Base in Goldsboro North Carolina. He was also cited and fined in New Mexico while delivering a petition against the war in Iraq to New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici’s office. He is a contributor at CommonDreams.org and has been nominated for the Nobel Prize.
Personal Website: fatherjohndear.org
Other Websites: commondreams.org
Dr. Yeshi Dhonden[x]
Geshe Pema Dorjee[x]
GESHE PEMA DORJEEGeshe Pema Dorjee is an internationally recognized authority, scholar, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. His fluent English, keen intellect, clear and practical explanations, warm-hearted nature, and infectious sense of humor enrich his talks and discussions with meaning and inspiration.
He was born into a nomadic family in Tibet in 1951. They escaped from the invading Chinese, and he settled in Dharamsala, India, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile and the home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
From 1973 to 1981 at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics founded by H.H. the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, he completed an undergraduate degree and two Masters degrees in Buddhist Philosophy, one in Prajnaparamita (the Perfection of Wisdom) and one in Madhyamika (the Middle Way).
For the next 16 years, he dedicated himself to the Tibetan Children’s Village School located in Dharamsala. For nine of those years, he taught Tibetan Buddhism, language, and culture. In 1990, he was appointed Principal of the school, and from 1993 to 1997 he was its Director.
In 1995, he earned his Geshe degree at the Drepung Loseling Monastery.
Geshe Pema Dorjee served for two years as the Principal of the Tibetan Teachers Training Center. He was then named the first Principal of the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, and he remained in charge of that College from 1997 to 2002.
The Tibetan government-in-exile asked him to undertake various tasks. The Cabinet, for example, appointed him to the Higher Level Textbook Review Committee. His Holiness appointed him as a member of the Public Service Commission. The Department of Health appointed him as spiritual counselor to former political prisoners who had been tortured.
In 2001, H. H. the Dalai Lama asked Geshe Pema Dorjee to revive an important part of Tibetan Buddhism that had fallen into desuetude, the Bodong tradition. Fulfilling this task required him to establish both a scholarly project and a very practical one. To find the lost writings of that ancient tradition, to study them, translate them, and publish them, he founded in 2003 and continues to direct the Bodong Research and Publication Center in Dharamsala. To educate new monks in the Bodong tradition, he founded and continues to direct the Bodong monastery and school known as Porong Pelmo Choeding in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Although he insists that he is only a simple monk, Geshe Pema Dorjee lives the compassionate life about which he preaches. He travels to the most remote and impoverished regions of Himalayan India and Nepal. After a thorough analysis of what is most needed, he creates, organizes, directs, and raises funds for numerous humanitarian projects.
These projects include establishing schools, arranging medical care for the sick and injured, providing care for the elderly, creating an orphanage, supporting a drug rehabilitation center, educating villagers to protect them from human trafficking, creating a safe house for street girls, helping young people in Tibetan refugee camps, introducing new agricultural techniques, and providing safe water, toilets, and smokeless cookstoves.
Since 1997, he has donated much of his time to teaching and lecturing about Buddhist philosophy in countries around the world, including Sweden, England, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Norway, France, Estonia, India, Nepal, and Israel.
Since 2009, Geshe Pema Dorjee has lectured and taught in cities across the United States, including New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland, Miami, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Boston and Cambridge.