The Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas will hold an informal public organizational and informational meeting on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 6:00 pm.  The meeting will be held in the Willard and Pat Walker Community Room of the Fayetteville Public Library, located at 401 W. Mountain Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas, founded by Ven. Geshe Thupten Dorjee and Professor Sidney Burris, is dedicated to helping the Tibetan people preserve their culture and religion within the emerging global village. The Institute pursues its objectives through education, through providing the public with teachings, demonstrations, exhibits, lectures, films, study trips - in short, with any activity that artfully showcases one of the world’s oldest and most comprehensive civilizations.

This meeting is free and open to all interested members of the public.

Geshe Thupten Dorjee of the Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas was one of three University of Arkansas faculty recipients of the 2008 Teacher of the Year Award, sponsored by the University’s Student Alumni Board and Associated Student Government. 

Recipients of the honor are selected based on nominations by current and former students.  This year, a total of 84 faculty members received nominations; of those, 30 were selected as Outstanding Faculty Nominees and 3 were named Teacher of the Year.  Most of the nominees receive 2 or 3 nominations; Geshe-la received an unprecedented 20 nominations from his students.  The award is typically won by faculty members at Arkansas who have been teaching for 10-20 years; Geshe Dorjee received the award after teaching at the University for 3 semesters. 

The award was presented during a banquet attended by the Chancellor, Provost, Deans, student leaders, and other dignitaries of the University.  Geshe-la’s biography from the award banquet’s program reads:

Geshe Thupten Dorjee was born to a nomadic family in southern Tibet. Fleeing his country in 1959, Geshe and his family crossed the Himalayan Mountains, a treacherous journey, and arrived in a Tibetan refugee camp in Bhutan where Geshe and his family lived for over a decade. Constantly on the verge of starvation, witnessing the ravages of disease, Geshe happened to see several Tibetan monks debating and discussing philosophy, and at that point, he discovered his life’s calling.  Leaving the refugee camp, Geshe traveled to south India where, as a young teenager, he helped found and construct what would become the the largest Tibetan monastery in the world: Drepung Loseling Monastery.

Geshe then began a rigourous course of study that involved a series of written exams, extensive memory work, and public debates, with several of them conducted before the Dalai Lama himself.  In 1994, after 25 years of graduate-level work, Geshe was awarded the Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest degree awarded by a monastic university, and one of the most advanced degrees in the world.  The Dalai Lama suggested that Geshe’s future lay in the West, and for the past decade Geshe has been teaching and modeling the principles of non-violence in the United States.  He feels a very special connection to the University of Arkansas and is deeply devoted to his growing community of students. Currently, the University of Arkansas, with the generosity of Dean Don Bobbitt of Fulbright College, is the only University in America that has a Geshe Lharampa in residence.

News of this award has spread rapidly throughout the Tibetan community in exile, and has become a source of pride for Tibetans throughout the world.  Geshe has received dozens of congratulatory phone calls and letters from Tibetans and supporters of Tibet, and has been interviewed, along with some of the students who nominated him, by Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, who will broadcast the news into Tibet itself.  Documentary filmmakers have asked for video footage of the awards ceremony so that they can include it in a documentary about Tibetans in America to be presented to His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his upcoming visit to Madison, Wisconsin.

Characteristically humble, when Geshe-la received the news that he had won the award, he shrugged and turned to a colleague, asking, “Is this a big deal?”  He was assured, “Yes, Geshe-la.  It’s a very big deal.”

We join the Tibetan people and the students, friends, and supporters of Geshe Dorjee in extending our congratulations for this well-deserved honor.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS TIBETAN FILM SERIES PRESENTS
WHEEL OF TIME
Wednesday, February 20, 2008, 7:00 pm
Giffels Auditorium, Old Main 

On Saturday, November 10, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the Asia Development Management Group will be hosting a Tibetan rug sale at McNair Middle School in Fayetteville.  There will be many other items for sale as well.  To have a look at the full listing, visit www.truetibetan.com.  The proceeds from the sale will benefit McNair Middle School, as well as the people of Tibet.

ADMG is dedicated to helping Tibetan artisans ply their trade in the 21st century, and they are a worthy organization deserving of our support.  In fact, even though their work is distinctly international, ADMG has Arkansas roots, and we are fortunate indeed that their home office is here in Fayetteville.  They are doing wonderful things for the Tibetan people. These are extraordinary rugs that have been handmade by Tibetans in the traditional style, and they will be offered at greatly reduced prices.  This is a wonderful opportunity for the people of Northwest Arkansas to support the Tibetan people, while adding a unique piece of artwork to their homes.

Geshe Thupten Dorjee and Rinzin Dorjee of the Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas, will be on hand with a Tibetan picnic tent, which has recently arrived from Tibet. 

McNair Middle School is located at 3030 E. Mission Blvd. in Fayetteville. 

TIBETAN FILM SERIES
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

Sponsored by The Religious Studies Program and the Fulbright College Honors Program of Fulbright College

All films will be shown in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main on the University of Arkansas campus, beginning at 7:00 p.m. 

Geshe Thupten Dorjee, Pasang Gelek, and Rinzin Dorjee will provide an introductory chant, and will be available to answer questions about the films and about their lives in exile.  The films are free and open to the public.

Wednesday, October 17: Cry of the Snow Lion
Ten years in the making, this award-winning documentary is a definitive exploration of a legendary subject.  An epic story of courage and compassion, Cry of the Snow Lion features unprecedented imagery from Tibet, combined with riveting interviews and a collection of underground and archival footage never before assembled in one film.

• BEST DOCUMENTARY–Audience Award - Santa Barbara International Film Festival Audience Award - Bahamas International Film Festival
• SPECIAL JURY AWARD–Banff Mountain Film Festival - Trento Mountain Film Festival - Poprad Mountain Film Festival - Graz Mountain Film Festival
• OFFICIAL SELECTION–Toronto - Seattle - IFP Los Angeles - Bangkok - Sydney

Wednesday, November 14: Dharma River
Yatra is the Sanskrit word for pilgrimage or spiritual journey. As the first documentary in the Yatra Trilogy, Dharma River is a timeless journey through legendary rivers to the greatest Buddhist temples and mystical sites of Laos, Thailand, and Burma. It offers a direct experience of lost civilizations, sacred spaces, and ancient traditions.

Wednesday, February 20: Wheel of Time
Acclaimed director Werner Herzog’s extraordinary documentary of the Kalachakra initiation in Bodh Gaya, this film chronicles with breath-taking cinematography the pilgrimage of 500,000 Buddhists to see the Dalai Lama conduct this ancient initiation at the very place of the Buddha’s enlightenment.  This extraordinary documentary also contains a surprise appearance by Geshe Thupten Dorjee, currently in residence at the University of Arkansas.

Thursday, March 27: The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this documentary film provides an in-depth examination of death and dying in the remote mountain communities of Tibet as well as in a Western hospice.  Based on one of the most profound treatises of Buddhist spirituality, this film approaches the subject of mortality from a compassionate and intelligent perspective that is clear and unforgettable.

For more information, contact Professor Sidney Burris, Director, Religious Studies and Honors Studies, Fulbright College, University of Arkansas:  575-2509, or email at sburris(at)uark.edu.

 His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama is 72 years old today. It’s customary to recite a prayer for his long life on his birthday:

Tibetan:
GANG RI RA WAY KOR WAY SHING KHAM DIR
PHEN DANG DEY WA MA LU JUNG WAY NAY
CHEN RAY ZIG WANG TEN ZING GYA TSO YI
SHAB PED SID THAY BAR DU TEN GYUR CHIG

English:
In this Pure Land surrounded by the snowy mountains
You are the source of all benefit and happiness without exception.
All powerful Avalokiteshvara, Tenzin Gyatso,
May you stay immovable until Samsara becomes exhausted.

The Saturday, June 30 edition of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette will feature an article about Geshe Thupten Dorjee, highly educated Tibetan Buddhist monk and founder of the Tibetan Heritage Institute of Arkansas.

In conjunction with the article, a video interview with Geshe will be available on the Democrat Gazette’s web site at http://www.arkansasonline.com/video/ 

RARE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY from ODIYAN

A unique opportunity is available during the summer months on the Mendocino/Sonoma Coastal Ridge in northern California.  International volunteers from the U.S., Europe and South America are gathering to live and work to help complete the final construction at the world-famous Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, Odiyan.  Depending upon skill levels and background, volunteers can also work with the Tibetan Book Project or Dharma Publishing at Ratna Ling, sister community to Odiyan.

Time commitment required will be one week to three months.  You will live on the land in large tent like structures, enjoy vegetarian meals, clean fresh air and beautiful forest surroundings.  Stipends are available for three-month long commitments or longer.   This short-term opportunity to work at Odiyan or Ratna Ling is a very special one, as these sites rarely open to the public.

Skills and experience needed vary; some work will include:

 Gardening
 Landscaping
 Simple painting
 General construction work.

Also specialized skills are needed for wall framing, heavy machinery operators, concrete, electrical and plumbing work. At Ratna Ling, cooking, book binding & design, web management, accounting and clerical work are also available.

Please see the web sites for more info and pictures: http://www.odiyan.org/ and http://www.ratnaling.org/

Make this a memorable summer and make a real contribution of meaning. 

Space is limited.

Email: suzannem@dharmapublishing.com or call 707 847 3717, X208.   Or call Colleen at our Berkeley Tibetan Book Project 510 845 1710, or email us at YesheDe@nyingma.org

Dharamsala, April 15 - Dr. Clare Harris, Lecturer and Curator for Asia, Pitt Rivers Museum and School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, just finished her visit to Dharamsala to promote an interactive web archive that depicts Tibet visually, as captured through both colonial and post-colonial periods.

The Tibet Album presents more than 6000 photographs spanning 30 years of Tibet’s history. These extraordinary photographs are a unique record of people long gone and places changed beyond all recognition. They also document the ways that British visitors encountered Tibet and Tibetans.

Featuring photographs taken by Charles Bell, Arthur Hopkinson, Evan Nepean, Hugh Richardson, Frederick Spencer Chapman, Harry Staunton and the previously unidentified photographs of Rabden Lepcha.

Specially designed functions (maps, zoom, album) enable you to browse this site in many different ways. Photographs appear in a variety of formats and can be linked to the visual narratives they were originally used for.

The Tibet Album can be viewed at:  http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/