DRUM Newsletter - Spring 2022

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LET T ER FROM T HE PRESIDENT February 16, 2022

Greetings, members and friends of Tibet House US. It is my pleasure to write to you on this full moon day of the 12th lunar month of the Iron Ox Year, moving in a few weeks into the Water Tiger Year! This is very exciting, since Tiger Years are very energizing for great tasks, and our great task nowadays is to build on our 35 years of service to His Holiness and the amazing people of Tibet by creating and stabilizing THUS, fortifying it even more solidly to continue through the next few generations—at least until the Tibetan people are free again to flourish and shower their blessings on the world from their lofty perch on the roof—the Third Pole of the Planet Gaia.

We are working on detailed plans with this special intensity for a number of reasons. First, contrary to our fondest hopes, and in spite of the friendship that his father had from 1954 with our patron H. H. the Dalai Lama, Xi Jinping of the CCP of the PRC has abandoned his original intention of changing the CCP’s genocidal policies toward the Tibetan people and its exploitive and destructive practices that harm the fragile Tibetan homeland, the Roof of the World, the Land of Snowy Peaks, the gigantic Tibetan plateau.

He has turned Tibetans over to the CCP’s United Front Work Department to double down on their genocide, to remove the Tibetans as a people by assimilation or extermination, supposedly to preempt them being there as themselves to make any future claim on their colonized and devastated home. No more freedom to be Buddhist, no more freedom to learn their own language, shameless public pressure to intermarry—Tibetan women with Chinese men—no more pretense of space for human rights, no restraint in exploitation of land resources— wood, grass-to-wool, minerals, water—no restraint of colonization in cities, accelerating the atmospheric overheating that threatens the glacial lifeline of the billions living downstream.

Second, therefore, given this worsening situation on the ground, the critical importance of our enduring mission of preserving the seeds of Tibetans’ unique enlightenment-oriented culture turns out to confirm His Holiness’ far-reaching vision in founding and supporting THUS with persistent determination. THUS continues to be long-term vital for the future of the highland and its people, a tower of the mission perforce conducted mainly by the Tibetan diaspora and the network of Tibet Houses in free nations around the world, rooted in Dharamsala and New Delhi and channeled through your precious THUS in the great city and state of New York.

In our current drive to fortify THUS for the long-haul future, we are pleased and honored to celebrate our outstanding Board of Directors, who persist, and are strongly energized to shoulder this responsibility with full enthusiasm and creativity. In particular, I want to welcome Professor David Kittay. JD, PhD, and family, whom I have enjoyed coming to know over more than a decade as a brilliant student of Tibetan, Sanskrit, and all levels of Buddha Dharma as resonant with the best of world sciences and arts and tech, and as a valued colleague and original explorer of the how of saving Tibetan culture in a challenged world. Looking to the future of THUS, I have appointed him as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Board, as a widely connected friend of Tibet, an established lawyer, scholar, and popular professor at Columbia, who has embraced the mission of THUS as a central focus within his many interests in Buddhism, philosophy, religion, technology, and the future of America, Tibet, and the world.

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Third, we are sustained undeterred by the challenges by our remembering how, as I often repeat, the people of Tibet are specially blessed with what I call “post-millennial consciousness,” where they tend to feel the imminent possibility of personal fulfillment through enlightenment in their daily lives, even as they are aware of the arduous process of educational and social practice required to actually attain it. Just like us at our best, they enjoy a vivid sense of the precious value of the human life, which drives them to make it meaningful. This is intensified by their healthy awareness of the immediacy of death, ever refreshed by their unique Book of Natural Liberation Through Learning in the Between (misnamed “Book of the Dead”), which helps them cherish the moment, as the door to happiness in this and future lives.

As for the Thurman family, this Ox Year, Nena and I celebrated at THUS’ Menla (Medicine Buddha) Healing Retreat our entering of our ninth decade, with our energetic younger generations and our many beloved friends, all friends of Tibet. We joyfully affirmed our nonretirement from our voluntary caretaking of His Holiness’ good ship THUS! We were deeply blessed to receive a note from His Holiness Himself, mentioning His own reaching at year 86, encouraging us to expand our upholding of the mission of Tibet House US: As for me, I too am in good health and full of joy. I firmly believe that it is altruism, putting others before self that makes this possible.

Although I have reached 86 this year, I am confident that I will be able to live long in the service of others.

At THUS we do feel honored to work for His Holiness’ Cultural Center in America, Tibet’s unofficial cultural embassy. Whenever I do anything at THUS Cultural Center in New York city or upstate at THUS Menla Spa Resort, I feel good—hopeful, energized, and way less troubled than usual by all the chaos happening all over our glorious planet Gaia. What we always need to do when upset by things going wrong is to see the bigger picture with wisdom and compassion and cultivate joy in vigorously resisting the negative and acting positively.

We must never give up, with ourselves, with Tibet, with America, with our overheated planet in crisis.

As I always say, dear friends, you all also do Love Tibet by giving and working with us to save its precious culture. You are THUS members, because you know that life on this earth without Tibet’s unique inner science of wisdom and compassionate art of freedom, without its beauty and joy, just would not measure up to the precious opportunity of being human. Thank you all so much for your cheerful presence and contributions of every kind. We will need your help even more to expand our presence in America for the next generations, inspiring all to save its culture of essential spiritual knowledge and practical lifestyle.

With all blessings for your health and happiness during the upcoming year of the Water Tiger!

Faithfully yours,

Robert A. F. Thurman, President February 16, 2022 c.e.; Iron Ox Year; Tibetan Royal Year 2147 PS: Please remember your THUS mantra—LOVE TIBET! And Tibet’s mantra, !!OM MANI PADME HŪM!! It expresses the enlightened vision that true love, deeply intelligent and vastly compassionate, pervades the world, heaven and earth.

TIBET HOUSE US—Cultural Center of H. H. Dalai Lama patron

His Holiness the Great Fourteenth Dalai Lama honorary chair

Namgyal Choedup, U.S. Representative of H. H. Dalai Lama board of trustees Robert A. F. Thurman, president; Philip Glass, vice president; Ludwig Kuttner, secretary; Nena Thurman, volunteer executive chairwoman; David Kittay, executive committee chair; Beata Tikos, treasurer; Anonymous, Peter Backman, Ina Becker, Annie Christopher, Janet Friesen, Susan Kessler, Marjorie Layden, Michael McCormick, John Miller, Geshe Dadul Namgyal, Janet Peak, Laura Pintchik, Ven. Tenzin Priyadarshi, John Rezk, Laurence H. Silverman, Uma Thurman honorary trustees Chhime Choekyapa, private office of H. H. Dalai Lama; Alan B. Abramson, Lavinia Currier, Peggy Hitchcock, Navin Kumar, Tenzin Namgyal Tethong tibetan spiritual and cultural advisers Gyalwa Karmapa xvii—Ogyen Trinley Dorje, Nechung Kuten Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kyabjey Lingtsang Rinpoche, Sakya Trichen Rinpoche, Lama Pema Wangdak, Lelung Rinpoche, Lama Tenzin Wangyal, Ven. Geshe Dorji Damdul, tibet house new delhi, Kelsang & Kim Yeshi, norbulingka institute tibet house staff Ganden Thurman, executive director; Beata Tikos, managing director; Kyra Borré, special events; Sonam Choezom, membership coordinator; Anna Varshavskaya, office & finance; Tenzin Kunsang, Jen Liu, program associates; Joe Cosey, digital development; Tashi Tsering, programs; Thomas F. Yarnall, publications menla staff Michael G. Burbank, executive director; Lynn Schauwecker, managing director; Amber Hallinan, general manager; Pamela Kalechofsky, programming; Alicia Ojeda, executive chef; Issis Orrego, front of house; David Giangreco, facilities; Golriz Jahanjiri, dewa spa; Justin Stone-Diaz, new media tibet house drum Robert A. F. Thurman, editor-in-chief; Kyra Borré, Michael G. Burbank, Sonam Choezom, Ganden Thurman, Beata Tikos, Tashi Tsering, Anna Varshavskaya, editors; Joe Cosey, Jen Liu, William Meyers, Marc Greene, design & production tibet house volunteers Sonam Wangchuk, Tenzin Yeshi, Aidan Thomas Speckhard

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HEARTFELT THANKS TO PHILIP GLASS, ALL THE ARTISTS AND ALL WHO TUNED IN!

THUS.ORG/BENEFITCONCERT 4

photo by Danny Clinch

Richard Gere, Laurie Anderson, Spalding Gray, Philip Glass, Suzanne Vega, 1988

Moby, Nawang Khechog, David Bowie, Dave Matthews, 2001

photo by Arturo Bejar Philip Glass, Sandra Oh, 2020,

Heartfelt thanks to Philip Glass for 35 years of extraordinary concerts!

And to all of the artists who have so generously donated their time and talent over all of these years!

Getty Images Drepung Gomang Monks, Jon Batiste,

Patti Smith, David Byrne, Angelique Kidjo,

Stephen Colbert, 2019

Nawang Khechog, Trey Anastasio, 2000

Philip Glass, 2019

Matt Berninger, Phoebe Bridgers-2020

Patti Smith, Betty LaVette, Iggy Pop, 2020

Join us for our in-person 36th Annual Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall on March 1, 2023, to celebrate the Year of the Water Hare!

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ON VIEW

APRIL 7 T H – JULY 9 T H 2022 t h u s . o r g /d a v i d o r r

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Tibet House US

Repatriation Collection A part of the THUS mandate is to collect diverse examples of Tbetan sacred, fine, and folk arts, with the hope to ultimately repatriate them to a National Museum in a culturally free Tibet. To this end, the Repatriation Collection was started in 1992. This growing collection is comprised of 1,500 objects: tangkas, bronzes, ritual objects, and folk art. Generous collectors who are deeply concerned about the ultimate disposition of the cultural heritage of the Tibetan people have and continue to thoughtfully give representative examples of the vast and sophisticated repertoire of Tibetan arts.

Since the Chinese communist occupation of Tibet beginning in 1949, the majority of these art works and Buddhist manuscripts were destroyed, particularly during the Cultural Revolution.

Surviving art objects have slowly found their way to the international art market and an emerging unde rstanding of their aesthetic beauty and symbolic meaning has firmly established the world class quality and distinctive excellence of the Tibetan artistic tradition. Grateful acknowledgement to Jacqueline Dunnington, Horch family, Michael McCormick, John Rezk, Carlton Rochell, Phil Rudkow.

Atisha life tangka 18th century private donor

Tibet House Gallery is able to mount exhibitions now and then, in between its numerous visiting exhibitions. Also, a permanent rotating exhibition happens in the hallways and in rthe library room at the Tibet House Cultural Center, where a rich vafiety iof paintings, sculptures, and ritual and cultural objects is always viewable.

Trustee Michael McCormick is the volunteer curator of the collection, and deserves mention for his tireless search for furthr donations to the collection. When funds allow a professional curator to be employed, as has happened in the past, traveling exhibitions are created from the collection and presented in museums and libraries around the country.

Kunga Naljor with lineage 19th century private donor

Kadam or Kagyu Meditation Tangka, gouache on cotton, 15th century. upper registers L-R depicting Chakrasaṁvara, Vajrapāni, lower registers L-R, Lokeshvara, and White Tara.

gift of John Rezk

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THUS 35 YEARS OVERVIEW AND RECENT NEWS So this year, 2022, marks Tibet House US’ 35th anniversary since its formal founding was announced in a press conference, at the Carlyle Hotel here in New York City in the autumn of 1987, by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and the first board of the organization: including Richard Gere, Bob Thurman, Philip Glass, Tenzin Namgyal Tethong, etc. The aim of the organization was to help preserve and present the best most useful and interesting components of Tibetan Culture, Arts, and Sciences to the western world in order for the truth and beauty of Tibet and its People to be better known: our belief was that the truth of Tibet would inform and inspire the global public’s interests in helping to resolve the problems Tibetans face at home and in exile from many decades of unjust and harsh suppression, occupation, and colonization by its neighbor, the so-called People’s Republic of China.

There were lesser, more pedestrian aims of the organization— such as providing a resource for publishers, students, academics, Buddhists, and art collectors, providing educational materials and resources for the general public, providing opportunities for Tibetan Artists, Performers, Lamas, and Teachers, presenting high-quality interdisciplinary work bridging Eastern and Western disciplines and sciences, publishing books by, about, and inspired by Tibet, and, foundationally, creating and maintaining a destination facility to provide the office and exhibition spaces needed to serve the public as a “cultural embassy” for a nation not allowed to have an actual representing embassy. At the heart of the enterprise was the simple desire to share with the world the beauty and wisdom of Tibet, manifest through the efforts of many generations of Tibetans, so that the world would benefit from it and perhaps be inspired to help protect and preserve it.

I am proud to say that over the years, in addition to accomplishing, often repeatedly, many of those aforementioned institutional aims, we have quite frankly, generally inspired many thousands of people, over the years and around the world, to help Tibet out of a love for it or some facet of it. Many, many more people (millions in all likelihood) enjoyed, and we hope were uplifted, by our thousands of programs, offerings, and activities over the years; for a while there Tibet achieved almost household-name recognition across the world, and we are a part of that heartening reason for optimism, even now in these days of duelling apocalypses stalking the globe. You should be proud too, and I hope you are. As the D ­ alai Lama said when explaining His peoples’ nonviolent struggle for freedom and justice: “The truth is our only weapon.”

The earliest incarnation of Tibet House New York (as it was called back then) borrowed the Tibet Fund’s nonprofit status and operated out of various small loaner offices, and even a rental above a mattress store on 34th street. The early volunteers immediately began planning activities and setting up systems to gather ­support 10

and attention for Tibet and Tibet House New York. They planned a tour of Tibetan music and dance, tours for chanting monks, occasioned an international happening working with the cultural office in Dharamsala, the Year of Tibet (1991–92).

Under the presidency of Elsie Walker, they fundraised for and purchased a brownstone (located at 244 East 32nd) to house the Office of Tibet, Tibet Fund, and also Tibet House, a “museum without walls” project for Tibetan Art (which is now our Repatriation Collection of 12th–20th century Tibetan Art), planned and assembled a blockbuster travelling exhibition (Wisdom and Compassion, which toured the world in the ’90s through eleven museums in six countries and introduced Tibetan fine arts to the world and its art markets), partnered with the New York Open Center to begin to provide regular educational programming, inaugurated, at the suggestion and through the efforts of our now Vice President Philip Glass, our signature Annual Benefit Concerts, which have for most years been held at Carnegie Hall, planned and convened numerous tours of Tibetan teachers, lamas, and artists, including of course His Holiness the Dalai Lama Himself, planned and executed several world-class conferences on East–West Science, Medicine, and Religion, Peacemaking, Democracy in Asia, Nonviolence, Death and Dying, among others, and began publishing and helping authors publish books on Tibet. This era set up the schedule of activities that has defined our work in all these years since: Educational Programs, Publishing, Exhibitions, Gallery Shows, Cultural Displays, Travelling Exhibitions, building the Collection, High ­Quality Interdisciplinary and Working Conferences, Performances, Meditations, Benefits, etc.—basically any and all ways we could show something valuable and interesting that Tibetan culture and knowledge has to offer our own traditions, lifestyles, and even sciences.

This massive output is the Tibet House of the late ’80s and ’90s and culminated in many positive outcomes for the Tibetan situation and for Tibet House US Inc. (as we formally changed our name), most notably the tremendous successes of the ­Wisdom and Compassion exhibition touring the globe to great acclaim for most of the decade and the unexpected popularity and poignancy of our conference in San Francisco in 1997, ­entitled Peacemaking: the Power of Nonviolence with over 5,000 remarkably engaged participants and collaborators. These two runaway successes produced enough extra income to let us purchase in 1996–97 the 22 West 15th Street Cultural Center which officially opened in 1998, giving the organization its own home at last.

Our institutional and idealistic successes in that era were a key part of a broader public awakening to the sorrows of the Tibetan

political situation as well as the joys found in its cultural offerings. However, seen against the backdrop of our own American struggle for identity and purpose as the last superpower of the post–Cold-War Era, the encouraging public popularity of Tibet was contradicted by an opposite movement in U.S. policy which, after famously de-linking economic policy from human rights and international promotion of our core principles like freedom and democracy, placed economics above all other national principles and interests, resulting in the PRC’s relatively quick acquisition of permanent Most Favored Nation status for trade, entry into the World Trade Organization, and increased clout in U.S. academia and politics, despite pushback from the international community and public opinion in the form of the Nobel Peace Prize for HHDL and the international condemnation of the ­brutal suppression of the Tiananmen demonstrations.

It’s ironic, looking back at that time, that the more ­successful Tibet House and our colleagues were in informing public opinion on Tibet, the harder our tasks became in the context of neoliberal triumphalism and policies which saw greater wealth and power as the reason we “won” the cold war, rather than the superiority of our morality and principles over those of the authoritarians overseeing their failed states across the globe. I mention these things because right now amidst the full horror of a televised invasion of a country, Ukraine, and attempted erasure of its identity and sovereignty, even the very existence of its people, we see not merely exact parallels to and reminders of what happened and still is happening to Tibet, its Culture, and its People, but also, paradoxically, a reason for optimism insofar as we, and a good part of the world with us, are deliberately choosing principles and compassion for both the Ukrainians and the Russians shanghaied into that war over economic convenience for ourselves. In an otherwise depressing domestic landscape littered with the collateral damage of one Culture War or another, a few bright flowers of decency and integrity seem to be blooming, such that one cannot help but wonder if optimism itself might not be too far off.

Tibet House, like Buddhism, is premised on the idea that when we can see the truth about our own and others’ value and capacity for good, we cannot help but try to do the right thing, and that’s okay even if we don’t immediately “win” everything and magically solve every heartrending problem. If there is an agenda to our work and for the issues of Tibet, then it is to show that the good is possible not only as an object of faith but as a consequence of truth as well. I digress perhaps, but it just seems important to note that our work is important to our shared task of upholding what’s good and true for the betterment of all people.

The 2000s saw the continuance of Tibet House US’s ­exposition of the salient aspects of Tibetan culture for the Arts, ­Science, Human Relations, Peacemaking, Buddhism, Psychology,

Medicine, etc., against the backdrop of the dismal outlook provided by the newly declared, generational Global War on ­Terror and the two additional wars started in its name. Needless to say, the situation for Tibetans in Tibet and on the world stage was not ideal, nor was the public’s appetite for our distinctive brand of ­multicultural interdisciplinary exploration of the human experience as robust, shall we say, as it had been in the ’90s. Fortunately this is the norm for our work mainstreaming the exotic, and so we carried on as best we could, putting out the best materials and ­occasions we could muster, and lots of them.

Then, suddenly a new possibility and challenge appeared! We were gifted a large property and facilities in upstate New York, and it was decided that we would use it for two main objectives: to support our nonprofit work financially and as a venue to showcase, in whatever ways we could, the virtues of traditional Tibetan Medicine, which combines the systems of India and China, among others, with a pharmacopeia derived from both, as well as from Persia and Greece. In typical fashion we had to bootstrap this ­project into being as we had only a small grant and our own meager savings to underwrite such an ambitious undertaking. The staff up there and the board members who oversaw their ­efforts have done an incredible job developing, over these years, our Menla Mountain Retreat—called “Menla” after the name of the dark blue Medicine Buddha, who like Aesclepius and Hippocrates for western doctors, is the patron Buddha of medicine, healing, and healers (Bhaishajya Guru in Sanskrit, YaoShiFo in Chinese, Yasuki in Japanese, etc., a well-known presence throughout Asia). See below section on News from Menla.

Now we have emerged from the pandemic largely unscathed thanks to generous donations from trustees, staff, friends and members, as well as government support, allowing us to retain, and even house, some staff over the long course of the disaster.

Both the New York Center and Menla staff and volunteers pivoted to mainly on-line offerings, which found a ready audience in the homebound pandemic populations of the world. As far as in-person programs and activities went, there were long fallow ­periods and largely furloughed staff. The upstate Menla Spa Retreat ­Center was able to resume activities by the end of the last year and has been doing well since; while the City Center is still proceeding slowly in the somewhat still reserved New York milieu (we hope to be getting the in-person programming going soon, this summer, assuming we don’t have another wave).

All best wishes to all members and friends,

Ganden Tai Thurman Ganden Thurman, Executive Director

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THUS CITY CENTER PROGRAMS 2022 ON-LINE PROGRAMS SPONSORED BY TIBET HOUSE

Compassion for Mom in Preparation for Mother’s Day Elizabeth Pyjov Sunday, May 1 | 6:00–7:30pm ET

Mindfulness Meditation Virtual 5-Day Mini-Retreat Cyndi Lee Monday, April 4 through Friday, April 8 | 12–1pm ET

Full Moon Sound Baths: May Flower Blood Moon Phil Jacobs Monday, May 16 | 12–1pm ET

“The Book of Joy” by H. H. Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu | 6-Week Book Club Lavina Shamdasani Tuesdays, April 5 through May 10 | 6–7pm ET The Art of Mantra: Exploring the Power of the Word | 3-Week Series Mary Reilly Wednesdays, April 6, 13, & 20 | 7:00–8:30pm ET White Tara for World Peace and Healing | 30-min Meditation Venerable Lobsang Tenpa Thursday, April 7 | 12:00–12:30pm ET Nature of the Heart: Awakening Our Innate Wisdom and Compassion Nina Rao & Lopön Chandra Easton Sunday, April 10 | 6–8pm ET Cultivating Emotional Balance: 42-Hour Training Venerable Lobsang Tenpa Saturdays, April 16 through July 2 | 11am–3pm ET Full Moon Sound Baths: April Pink Moon Phil Jacobs Monday, April 18 | 12–1pm ET

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2022 IN-PERSON PROGRAMS SPONSORED BY TIBET HOUSE Radiance + Reflection: An Exhibition by David Orr David Orr On view April 7 to July 9 | Wednesday through Sunday, 11am– 4pm ET Opening Reception for Radiance + Reflection by David Orr David Orr Thursday, April 7 | 6–8pm ET

2022 HYBRID PROGRAMS (ON-LINE AND IN-PERSON) SPONSORED BY TIBET HOUSE Mapping the Universe with David Orr, Bob Thurman, and David Kittay David Orr, Bob Thurman, and David Kittay Saturday, April 9 | 5:00–6:30pm ET All these programs are available in detail on the websites: thus.org and menla.org. Click on the entire page or on the button below to view.

THUS–MENLA PROGRAMS RESIDENTIAL 2022 RETREATS AT MENLA From Surviving To Thriving: Practical Compassion And Emotional Self-Regulation Kim John Payne Apr 01 - Apr 03, 2022 Cultivating Wisdom Through Self Compassion: A Spring Mindfulness Retreat For Women Paula Evans Apr 01 - Apr 03, 2022

Matt Wood: A Potpourri of Herbal Wisdom and Insights Matthew Wood Apr 25 - Apr 29, 2022 Mindful Leadership for the 21st Century Janice Marturano & Patricio Barriga Apr 27 - May 01, 2022 Spring Heart Opening Yoga & Meditation Retreat Gemma Farrell Apr 29 - May 02, 2022

Flow Into Spring Francesca Bove: Viale Yoga Apr 08 - Apr 10, 2022

Ayurvedic Spring Cleanse Retreat Noël Graupner & Elitza Datcheva May 02 - May 06, 2022

Navigate the Creative Path of the Self With Iyengar Yoga Jessica Becker Apr 08 - Apr 10, 2022

Being Held: Receive the Nourishment You Need Rochelle Schieck May 06 - May 08, 2022

Restore & Renew!

Heather Rice & Denise Mihalik Apr 08 - Apr 10, 2022

Vajra Yoga - A Mahasiddha Reunion: Devotion, Wisdom, and Taras’ Magic Dr. Robert Svoboda, Richard Freeman, Mary Taylor, Krishna Das, Nina Rao, Michele Loew & Robert A.F. Thurman May 09 - May 16, 2022

Energy Medicine Squared - Reiki Master Certification in the Usui System of Natural Healing Brian Dailey, M.d., Facep, Facfe, Rmt, John Davis, Mba, Rmt, Kimla Rose, M.e., Rmt, Hf3k Rmt & Brett Newstead Rmp, Pe Apr 10 - Apr 16, 2022 A Love Letter to Mother Earth Retreat Florencia Fridman & Caro Arévalo Apr 19 - Apr 23, 2022 Psychedelic Integration: Experiential Practice Retreat for Clinicians Elizabeth Nielson, Phd, Leah Gooch, 500ryt & David Gumpel Apr 19 - Apr 24, 2022

Volunteer Hiking Trailwork Weekend Michael G. Burbank & Adam Foizen May 19 - May 22, 2022 Sage Academy of Sound 2022 Soundhealing Certification 3 Part Training: Module 1 Dr. John Beaulieu & Lea Garnier May 20 - May 22, 2022 Friends of Fungi John Michelotti, Erwin Karl, Gabriela Delia & Aubrey May 27 - May 29, 2022

Create-Your-Own Getaways Menla offers personal Create-Your-Own Getaways throughout the year for individuals, couples, and small groups of friends to be able to design their own retreat experience. Create-Your-Own Getaways offer delicious locally-sourced meals and deluxe private or small group cabin accommodations with the option for you to be creative with your schedule. You can choose to simply enjoy our exquisite mountain valley with no activities or interruptions, or book your favorite spa treatments and choose from our wonderful Nature Experiences and classes, including guided hikes, garden tours, yoga, meditation, and more. Dewa Spa specializes in rare Tibetan therapies and also includes a variety of western massage modalities, Ayurvedic treatments, private yoga, fitness classes, sound healing and meditation sessions with talented local therapists and teachers.

Book your CYO Getaway now by visiting: https://menla.org/personal-getaways/ and clicking on “Book Now.” All private classes, experiences, and spa appointments should be booked directly with our spa staff at dewa@menla.org.

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VISITING PROGRAMS AT MENLA Flow Into Spring Francesca Bove: Viale Yoga April 8 - 10, 2022 Navigate The Creative Path Of The Self With Iyengar Yoga Jessica Becker April 8 - 10, 2022 Restore & Renew!

Heather Rice & Denise Mihalik April 8 - 10, 2022 Energy Medicine Squared - Reiki Master Certification In The Usui System of Natural Healing Brian Dailey, John Davis, Kimla Rose, & Brett Newstead April 10 - 16, 2022 A Love Letter To Mother Earth Retreat Florencia Fridman & Caro Arévalo April 19 - 23, 2022 Psychedelic Integration: Experiential Practice Retreat For Clinicians Elizabeth Nielson, Phd, Leah Gooch, & David Gumpel April 19 - 24, 2022 Matt Wood: A Potpourri Of Herbal Wisdom And Insights Matthew Wood April 25 - 29, 2022 Spring Heart Opening Yoga & Meditation Retreat Gemma Farrell April 29 - May 2, 2022 Being Held: Receive The Nourishment You Need Rochelle Schieck May 6 - 8, 2022 Sage Academy Of Sound 2022 Soundhealing Certification 3 Part Training: Module 1 Dr. John Beaulieu & Lea Garnier May 20 - 22, 2022 Cultivating Joy: Couples’ Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Seema Desai, Md, Dee Dee Goldpaugh, Jayne Gumpel, Donna Sorgen, & Matthias Von Reusner, Md June 3 - 6, 2022 Simplicity Yoga Spring Retreat Rosanne Ferraiuolo June 9 - 12, 2022 14

Sound Healing With Tuning Forks: A Biosonic Sound Healing Retreat John Beaulieu, Nd, Phd June 10 - 12, 2022 11th Annual Sage Soundhealing Intensive Lea Garnier, Peter Blum, Grandmother Barbara Threecrow, Jessica Caplan & Angell Deer June 23 - 26, 2022 Coming Home Anna Fitzpatrick & Alexandra Chamizo June 24 - 27, 2022 Cultivating Our Sacred Power The Bodhisattva Way Elizabeth Murphy June 24 - 26, 2022 Sacred Summer Retreat For Yoga Teachers Liza Bertini & Michelle Dalbec June 24 - 26, 2022 Deep Space – Cosmic Forest: A Sound, Yoga, And Meditation Retreat John Minks, Billy Pinkerton & Anne Marie Miller July 7 - 10, 2022 Untangle & Thrive: A Woman’s Summer Retreat To Reclaim Your Life Angela Mckinney & Rebecca Baldwin July 15 - 18, 2022 Sage Academy Of Sound 2022 Soundhealing Certification 3 Part Training: Module 2 Lea Garnier July 22 - 24, 2022 Here And Now Yoga & Wellness Retreat Michelle Cavanagh, Sommer Chetty & Jane Apostol August 9 - 11, 2022 Sage Academy Of Sound 2022 Soundhealing Certification 3 Part Training: Module 3 Lea Garnier August 19 - 21, 2022 Finding Joy Through Self-Care Colleen Saidman Yee September 16 - 18, 2022

Immerse yourself in the magic of our pristine mountain forests. Explore hiking trails, encounter wildlife, and discover a rich tapestry of wellness experiences and activities. This includes workshops with renowned teachers, yoga, meditation, Tibetan healing therapies, massages, bodywork, and so much more.

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enla’s 20th anniversary will be commemorated on June 18, 2022-exactly 20 years after our first weekend retreat with Sharon Salzberg, Krishna Das, and Robert Thurman. We are grateful to our community of supporters, our board members, staff, and volunteers, and all the many people who have attended programs at Menla over the years. We have accomplished quite a lot so far, and we look forward to continuing to help Menla grow for many years to come. Here are some highlights from our first 20 years: In the past two decades, we have hosted more than 1,100 programs, providing over 36,000 people with exceptional retreat experiences. Tibet House–sponsored retreats have covered many topics, including: the Art of Dying, Mindful­ness, Tibetan Medicine, Tantra/Esoteric Buddhism, Buddha and the Yogis and Vajra Yoga (two series on the intersec­tion of hatha yoga and tantra), Buddhism & Psychotherapy, Shamanism, Bon Healing, Eastern Astrology, Buddha & Christ, the Sacred Feminine, Buddhist Addiction Recovery, Ayurveda, Kirtan, Holistic Health and Wellness, and Hiking in the Catskills, among many others.

Additionally some notable major events took place here, including: a Health & Longevity Conference Tibet House US co-sponsored in 2006 with HH the XIV Dalai Lama and western Nobel laureate scientists; the very first gather­ing of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers in 2005 and a number of subsequent reunion gatherings; and a historic weeklong council of indigenous elders from the unconquered tribes of Colombia (Kogi, Wewa, and Arhuaco) meeting with elders from a dozen Native North American tribes in 2011.

To accommodate more guests, we expanded the Lhasa Inn dining room and kitchen, added a large deck with a fireplace just in :front of Lhasa for outdoor lounging and dining in warmer weather—a favorite spot for many visitors—and upgraded our guest and staff houses. Nena Thurman then 16

em­barked on an ambitious project to construct a world-class spa, which was accomplished thanks to many donations and fundraising efforts. We were fortunate to have free consultations by our pro-bono architect Duke Beeson and multiple awardwinning spa designer, Clodagh. Nena worked with Clodagh and the staff not only to complete the interior design of the spa but also to re-imagine our public spaces and guest lodging to better reflect the Tibetan aesthetic. All of our building ­interiors are decorated with Tibetan artwork and accents, featuring numerous installations of photographs, paintings, and statues, most of which were generously donated by the artists themselves after their exhibits at ­Tibet House US in NYC. The decor is intended to inspire visitors to appreciate and fall in love with Tibetan culture.

Orn Dewa (“Happiness”) Spa opened in 2011, an exquisite 8000 square-foot healing center featuring 11 treatment rooms, men’s and women’s steam and sauna rooms, deep soaking tubs, Ayurvedic steam boxes, and most recently, a hyperbaric ­chamber. Dewa Spa has a growing menu of eastern and western therapies, including our signature tradi­tional Tibetan KuNye massage, and has helped us become a destination spa retreat like no other on the east coast.

We are blessed to have highly skilled therapists in our local community, some of whom have been trained by visiting Ti­betan doctors. “That was the best massage I ever had” is a common statement from our visitors.

2017 marked the first year that Menla became fully open to the general public to allow for day spa visits and personal getaway stays for individuals, couples, and small groups of family or friends. Locals and visitors to the area are now coming regularly for spa appointments, unique spa packages, and spa mini-retreats.

Getaway visitors can choose from a variety of a la carte ­activities and services, including guided hikes, yoga instruction, meditation, bonfires, and more.

In 2020 the pandemic ­ushered in the rapid ­åexpansion of

p­ ersonal getaways at Menla as people sought sanctuary from NYC, and we still continue to welcome many people here who prefer to create their own custom personal retreats. In 2019 we constructed a 30-ft. Pacific Yurt across from the Dewa Spa to accommodate individual yoga and sound healing sessions. We also completely renovated our 200-year-old Vintage Barn, ­making it into a fabulous and much-needed recreation space with a large fireplace, a pool table, and comfy couches to lounge and read, play games, or watch a film on the flatscreen TV We removed the unused tennis courts adjacent to the Barn, instead creating a large new vegetable and flower garden, a walking meditation labyrinth, and leaving a dedicated space for a future winterized greenhouse. With a generous donation of fine textiles by John ­Robshaw, we created four king-bed suites for personal getaways to add to our deluxe accommodations.

Another silver lining of the pandemic has been our rapid development of on-line programming. We have invested in

a­ dditional AV equipment and hired a professional videographer to ensure a higher ­quality for our program record­ings. We also partnered with the Medicine Buddha App to help people access Tibetan doctors remotely as well as raise ­money to sponsor the education of young Tibetan doctors in training in India. Bringing our offerings on-line has allowed us to reach a much wider audience overall and work with a wider array of faculty. In the past two years we have sponsored some wonderful and timely on-line content, much of which is available for evergreen purchase on our new website for on-line programs, www.thusmenla.org. As the world reopens to in-person gatherings, most Tibet House US retreats at Menla are now being offered in a hybrid format.

Please see below for the current list of on-line and in-person ­offerings for 2022.

We are profoundly grateful to all who have sustained us and helped us grow, and we look forward to serving our community for the next 20 years and beyond!

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WHAT IS THE THIRD POLE? The Third Pole encompasses the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalayan Mountain range with the world’s eight highest peaks. Its vast ice fields and over 46,000 glaciers contain the world’s third largest reserve of freshwater after the Arctic and Antarctic polar regions, giving it its name. This crucial ecological zone is the source of ten major river systems that provide water, irrigation, and hydropower to over 1.9 billion people in Asia—over 24% of the world’s population.

Central to the Tibet House mission is preserving and raising awareness of Tibetan culture, which ­expresses itself not only through art, language, and wisdom traditions, but also through the historical ­stewardship of its natural resources. Part of this pursuit is to look at current forces impacting the communities that are being most directly affected by cli­mate change. In 2021’s COP26, the issue of the conditions in the Third Pole was raised by the Tibetan delegation for the first time, marking a historical step towards including it in the global conversation.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been a vocal advocate for the preservation of the Third Pole and its ­pivotal role as a natural resource base for billions of sentient beings. We join him in raising awareness of this critical aspect of the cli­mate crisis.[printed text: “Human beings are the only creatures with the power to destroy the Earth, but we are also the species with the greatest capacity to protect it.”

On October 13–16, 2022, Tibet House will honor its 35th anniversary year with Climate Change at the Roof of the World. This science-based forum on im­pact in the Third Pole unites scientists, environmen­talists, policy

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makers, spiritual teachers, community leaders and engaging music performance. The Third Pole Region includes the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalayan Mountain range with the fourteen highest peaks in the world. Its ice fields and over 46,000 glaciers con­tain the world’s third largest reserve of fresh-water after the Arctic and Antarctic polar regions. This crucial zone is the source of ten major river systems that provide water irrigation, and hydropower, to 250 million with­in this mountainous locality and over 1.9 billion people in Asia — over 24% of the world’s population.

Warmer air temperatures and pollution are increasing glacier and snow melt and threat­ening the region’s food and water security, particularly in China and India, the fastest growing economies of the 21st century. A ground­breaking 2019 ICIMOD Report warned that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at current levels, the region could lose as much as twothirds of its glaciers and ice by the end of this century.

off his eyeglasses and borrowed a rifle from one of the guards. Tibet’s revered leader then departed from his home that he would never see again with his mother, sister, and younger brother. Their party headed in the dark toward the Tsangpo River. The crossing in a boat made of yak skins traversed a wide tributary of the Brahmaputra, one of the ten major rivers whose headwaters originate in the Third Pole. His party headed south over a vast area of roadless Himalayan mountains on tracks used by Tibetan and Bhutanese traders for centuries. They struggled over high mountain passes still laden with the bulk of winter snow. These weary travelers did not yet understand that the current warming of the surrounding icefields was already underway, just undetected.

On March 28, over a small transistor radio, His Holiness learned of the many Tibetan dead and the dissolution of his government. He reestablished his administration in a brief ceremony at Lhuntse Dzong, a large district fort commanding a hilltop sixty miles north of the Indian border. Monks bestowed the traditional emblems of authority as they chanted enthroneTibet House’s patron, the 14th Dalai Lama has a ment prayers. But the Dalai Lama was not safe. China legendary connection to this region as the scene of his 1959 flight from Lhasa into India with Chinese forces was moving to seal the border. in pursuit. Tibet House can trace its roots to his memHis Holiness continued across Lagroe-la, a high orable Third Pole odyssey. pass through an extraordinary sequence of snowOn March 17, 1959, in his summer residence in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama exchanged his monk robes for chose of a layman and then walked to his prayer room.

Seated on his meditation cushion, he reflected on a text in which the Buddha advised a disciple to have courage. Rising, he rolled up a sacred tangka of the Protectress Palden Lhamo across his shoulder, took

storms. Blinding snow glare forced his guards to shield their eyes by letting down their long braids, while His Holi­ness pulled his scarf down over his face. Mounted on a dzo, a hybrid yak, he rode the last

stretch “in a daze of sickness and weariness and unhappiness deeper than I can express.” The Dalai Lama ­dismounted and slowly walked across the border into India.

Over 72 years later, on October 31, 2021, His Holiness issued from his home-in-exile Dharamsala, India, a call to protect these wild and magnificent lands through which he escaped. “The melting of Tibet’s numer­ous glaciers, the damming and diversion of rivers, and widespread deforestation, exemplify how ecological neglect in one area can have consequences almost everywhere.”

With this international forum, Tibet House joins His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his calling the world to ac­tion, “Today, we need to address the future not with prayers prompted by fear, but by taking realistic action founded on scientific understanding. The inhabitants of our planet are interdependent as never before. Everything we do affects our human companions, as well as innumerable animal and plant species.”

Save the dates and register for updates here.

“Human beings are the only creatures with the power to destroy the Earth, but we are also the species with the greatest capacity to protect it.”

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OCT. 13-16

CLIMATE CHANGE

AT THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

thus.org/climate IMAGE CREDIT: VEN. TASHI NORBU

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“We can all learn a great deal from reading about the Dalai Lama's life. Read this beautiful book and be inspired by the ­extraordinary way that he has transcended even the most heartbreaking ­suffering, showing us how we can have love and compassion even for our so-called enemies. The more you learn about this man and his ­extra­ordinary life, the more inspired you will be.”

— Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Man of Peace

The Illustrated Life Story of the Dalai Lama of Tibet Why the “life story” of the Dalai Lama? It is a story of one man taking on an empire, calling for truth, peace, and justice for his Tibetan people. Here in full color for the first time, people can come to know the whole drama of his lifelong struggle.

Since the age of 15, the Dalai Lama has defended his people against conquest and colonization by the stealth empire of the People’s Republic of China. Under its “dictatorship of the proletariat,” China invaded Tibet in 1950, decimating and then ethnically cleansing the Tibetan people. Since colonialism should not be practiced in our era of self-determined nations, China always pretends that the Tibetans are a type of Chinese, using propaganda and military power to crush Tibet’s unique culture and identity. Yet the Dalai Lama resists by using only the weapon of truth—along with resolute nonviolence—even worrying some of his own people by seeking dialogue and reconciliation based on his more realistic vision.

The great 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet has become the first global D ­ alai Lama, a prominent transnational leader of all who want to make the dramatic changes actually necessary for life on earth to thrive for centuries to come. Considered the incarnation of the Buddhist savior Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara—archangel of universal compassion—he is believed to appear in many forms, at many different times, whenever and wherever beings suffer. Representing the plight of his beloved Tibetan people to the world, he has also engaged with all people who suffer oppression and injustice, as recognized in 1989 by his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Pages: 304 pages Available in both paperbound and hardcover editions Size: (pb): 8.5 x 11 in. / (hc): 8.75 x 11.25 in.

Most importantly, the Dalai Lama exemplifies his teachings through­out these pages, as he has throughout his life, and he radiates a powerful hope that we can and will prevail. Man of Peace presents the inside story of his amazing life and vision, in the high tension of the military occupation of Tibet and the ongoing genocide of its people. Spanish, German, and Tibetan language versions are now in preparation. We include a key page in the four languages here to encourage readers and donors to help us share its comprehensive vision more widely. As for the english version, in print in hardback and softback as well as in ebook formats.

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lhamo thondup asks for the rosary around the man’s neck.

mine!

yes, my child.

if you can tell me who i am...

you’re the sera lama!

right! then who’s this other lama here?

oh, this is losang, the groom...

right again, my child. revealing himself to be the high lama of sera monastery in lhasa, and having exchanged robes and hat with his servant to test the boy, kewtsang rinpoche requests permission of the parents to return with another delegation.

we have reason to believe that your son is a tulku.

a few days later, a much larger search party returns...

this is losang!

take me with you!

first our eldest _ now another. oh, here they come again...

having chosen the personal rosary of the last dalai lama, the child undergoes further tests...

you can have it this time, my child.

he ignores the larger drum in favor of the last dalai lama’s smaller one...

he even chooses the walking stick which the dalai lama preferred...

he drums just the way we drum during prayers! this one!

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SPOTLIGHT ON

Tsela Zoksang “We postponed the Olympics for a pandemic, I don’t see why we can’t postpone for genocide,” 18-yearold Tibetan activist and student Tsela Zoksang tells Teen Vogue.

“Genocide has to be a red line,” Zoksang continues. “When you have Uyghurs being put into modernday concentration camps, I think there’s little room to say, ‘These are games that happen every year, we can’t just change everything.’”

Tenzin Yangzom, a 24-year-old Tibetan activist, and the grassroots coordinator of Students for a Free Tibet, tells Teen Vogue that a boycott addresses “China’s genocide against Uyghur people, oppression inside Tibet, Hong Kong, and Southern Mongolia.” After news of the U.S. diplomatic boycott broke, Yangzom tweeted, “Young activists made this happen.”

Please join Tsela and Tenzin Choegyal for an evening of music and discussion on May 20. Check website for updates Read the full article on Teen Vogue

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BECOME A MEMBER

“…I describe the situation in Tibet as something like this: one ancient nation, with a unique cultural heritage, is now passing through something like a death sentence: a very critical, very serious situation…I want to thank those supporters who, financially or in some other way, are helping Tibet House and ask you to please continue…”

— H. H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tibet House US remains committed to preserving, presenting, and promoting the Tibetan people and the distinctive, beautiful, and uplifting culture they created. We rely on your generosity to keep our mission and programs growing and relevant.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS & BENEFITS

Student/Senior Membership- $24/Year BENEFITS:

Snow Lion Membership - $240/Year BENEFITS:

1. Unlimited access to THUS online digital media archive 2. 20% off all titles from Wisdom Publications 3. 10% off all year long from Satya Jewelry 4. One 25% coupon from Satya Jewelry 5. 15% off online language classes from LearnTibetan.net 6. 10% off THUS programs* and gift store purchases 7. 10% off Menla programs, R&R packages and gift store purchases 8. 10% discount from select Tibetan businesses marked with asterisk in THUS Directory

Basic Membership - $60/Year

All benefits of the Basic and Student/Senior Membership above, plus 12. Free webcasts* 13. 15% off THUS programs* and gift store purchases 14. 50% off your first spa treatment at Menla 15. Private Docent Tour of Tibet House US Collections and Gallery Exhibitions (by appointment) NB: Family/Spouse may be added to basic membership for an additional $12 a year * Tibet House US sponsored events only: upon request.

ARRANGED CHARITABLE GIFTING

BENEFITS: All benefits of the Student/Senior membership above, plus 9. Reserved seating for THUS programs* 10. Pre-sale of preferred seating for THUS large events 11. Member-only giveaways NB: Family/Spouse may be added to basic membership for an additional $12 a year

To donate endowments, securities and estate legacy funds please contact our Executive Director, Ganden Thurman at gthurman@tibethouse.us or call 212-807-0563.

For donations via cash, check, PayPal or Credit Card, see our site for easy click to donate options or mail in your donation to 22 West 15th Street New York, NY 10011.

FOUR EASY WAYS TO JOIN/RENEW Online: Go to www.tibethouse.us Mail: Send a check to: Tibet House US, Attn: Membership, 22 West 15th St., NY 10011 (please make sure to include your current telephone number in the memo area of check) In Person: Visit Tibet House US (Monday-Friday 12 noon–5pm) Phone: Call Sonam Choezom, Membership Coordinator @ (212) 807-0563, M–F 10am-6pm 33

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