Opinion
His Holiness Comes to Ithaca
Archive This!
October 4, 2007 - 11:00pm
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, will be speaking to the Cornell and Ithaca communities in Barton Hall this Tuesday. (If you didn’t get tickets, the event will be streamed online.) While many Cornellians may be traveling back from wherever they escaped to during Fall Break, some students have chosen to cut their breaks short to be present for the Dalai Lama’s talk, “A Human Approach to World Peace.”
Ithaca’s strong ties to the Tibetan community likely prompted the Dalai Lama’s visit. The city is home to His Holiness’ North American seat and personal monastery — the Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies. Located close to the Commons, the Namgyal Monastery has occupied a beautiful house on N. Aurora Street since 1992. The monks affiliated with the Ithaca monastery work closely with the Tibetan community in Ithaca and seek to preserve Tibetan traditions and identity. The monastery also offers “Western” students the chance to study Tibetan Buddhism.
The first Namgyal Monastery was founded during the 16th century in Tibet by the second Dalai Lama. The monastery was reestablished by the present Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India when he and many other Namgyal monks fled Tibet in 1959 as the Chinese pushed forward with their military takeover. Once in India, the Dalai Lama, the secular and religious leader of Tibetans today, and his many followers were quickly granted asylum. Presently, there are about 130,000 exiled Tibetans around the world. The majority of this population resides in India, though the U.S. has seen an increase in the number of Tibetans in recent decades. By 2000, the Tibetan population in the U.S. had grown to about 7,000.
In 1990, after negotiations with His Holiness, Congress passed an immigration act that issued 1,000 immigrant visas to Tibetans and also allowed for the future reunification of family members with pioneer immigrants. As part of the immigration process, the U.S. helped to set up about 25 resettlement sites across the country to facilitate the establishment of Tibetan communities; Ithaca was selected as one of these sites.
A small, vibrant Tibetan community has resided in Ithaca since 1992 and over 40 Tibetans are part of the Tibetan Association of Ithaca. You may have seen the Namgyal Monastery’s monks walking on the Commons in their traditional yellow and burgundy robes. Or perhaps you’ve dined next to a monk at Temple of Zeus while enjoying one of the café’s excellent soup selections.
At first glance, Ithaca appears to be an unlikely place host to such a community. But in reality, Ithaca has a long history of giving aid to immigrants and refugees. According to the 2000 Census, 16 percent of the population residing within the city limits of Ithaca is foreign-born, a rather high percentage for an upstate New York city of 30,000. Many of these individuals are refugees who have fled injustice and persecution in their native countries. Others are immigrants who chose Ithaca as their destination for its openness and cultural awareness.
In 1991, anticipating the establishment of a Tibetan community in Ithaca, His Holiness gave a talk to the Cornell and Ithaca communities entitled “Overcoming Differences.” This time, he returns to discuss world peace. The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent efforts to free Tibet. Outside of Tibet, he encourages individuals and governments to adopt policies which support non-violence.
Many of my fellow columnists have been writing in support or disapproval of Columbia University’s decision to host Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a speaker. While this is certainly a topic of importance, I can only hope that the lecture the Dalai Lama gives us this Tuesday will be as widely written about, discussed and pondered. In a world torn by genocide, war and corruption, it is imperative that we begin to focus our attention on tolerance and compassion and strive to create a less violent world. Listening to an expert on world peace may help us begin to do just that.
Sarah Olesiuk is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be contacted at solesiuk@cornellsun.com. Archive This! appears alternate Fridays.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, will be speaking to the Cornell and Ithaca communities in Barton Hall this Tuesday. (If you didn’t get tickets, the event will be streamed online.) While many Cornellians may be traveling back from wherever they escaped to during Fall Break, some students have chosen to cut their breaks short to be present for the Dalai Lama’s talk, “A Human Approach to World Peace.”
Ithaca’s strong ties to the Tibetan community likely prompted the Dalai Lama’s visit. The city is home to His Holiness’ North American seat and personal monastery — the Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies. Located close to the Commons, the Namgyal Monastery has occupied a beautiful house on N. Aurora Street since 1992. The monks affiliated with the Ithaca monastery work closely with the Tibetan community in Ithaca and seek to preserve Tibetan traditions and identity. The monastery also offers “Western” students the chance to study Tibetan Buddhism.
The first Namgyal Monastery was founded during the 16th century in Tibet by the second Dalai Lama. The monastery was reestablished by the present Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India when he and many other Namgyal monks fled Tibet in 1959 as the Chinese pushed forward with their military takeover. Once in India, the Dalai Lama, the secular and religious leader of Tibetans today, and his many followers were quickly granted asylum. Presently, there are about 130,000 exiled Tibetans around the world. The majority of this population resides in India, though the U.S. has seen an increase in the number of Tibetans in recent decades. By 2000, the Tibetan population in the U.S. had grown to about 7,000.
In 1990, after negotiations with His Holiness, Congress passed an immigration act that issued 1,000 immigrant visas to Tibetans and also allowed for the future reunification of family members with pioneer immigrants. As part of the immigration process, the U.S. helped to set up about 25 resettlement sites across the country to facilitate the establishment of Tibetan communities; Ithaca was selected as one of these sites.
A small, vibrant Tibetan community has resided in Ithaca since 1992 and over 40 Tibetans are part of the Tibetan Association of Ithaca. You may have seen the Namgyal Monastery’s monks walking on the Commons in their traditional yellow and burgundy robes. Or perhaps you’ve dined next to a monk at Temple of Zeus while enjoying one of the café’s excellent soup selections.
At first glance, Ithaca appears to be an unlikely place host to such a community. But in reality, Ithaca has a long history of giving aid to immigrants and refugees. According to the 2000 Census, 16 percent of the population residing within the city limits of Ithaca is foreign-born, a rather high percentage for an upstate New York city of 30,000. Many of these individuals are refugees who have fled injustice and persecution in their native countries. Others are immigrants who chose Ithaca as their destination for its openness and cultural awareness.
In 1991, anticipating the establishment of a Tibetan community in Ithaca, His Holiness gave a talk to the Cornell and Ithaca communities entitled “Overcoming Differences.” This time, he returns to discuss world peace. The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent efforts to free Tibet. Outside of Tibet, he encourages individuals and governments to adopt policies which support non-violence.
Many of my fellow columnists have been writing in support or disapproval of Columbia University’s decision to host Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a speaker. While this is certainly a topic of importance, I can only hope that the lecture the Dalai Lama gives us this Tuesday will be as widely written about, discussed and pondered. In a world torn by genocide, war and corruption, it is imperative that we begin to focus our attention on tolerance and compassion and strive to create a less violent world. Listening to an expert on world peace may help us begin to do just that.
Sarah Olesiuk is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be contacted at solesiuk@cornellsun.com. Archive This! appears alternate Fridays.
Free Tibet!
Free Tibet!
The Dalai Liar
Interesting article, but it left out a great deal about the Dalai Lama. Some very important questions:
Why does his Holiness feel the need to always be photographed with prominent Nazis and those convicted of war crimes and mass murder to exclusion of others? Why does his Holiness make good friends with convicted Nazi war criminals? Two very good friends of the Dalai Lama are Heinrich Harrer and Dr. Bruno Beger. Both of these men were officers in Hitler's Death Squads or SS. Heinrich Harrer was also a member of the SA which regularly beat-up opponents of Hitler and worse in Austria. Dr. Bruno Beger was convicted of war crimes at Auschwitz, including performing medical experiments upon inmates and mass murder. What delightful fiends or friends the Dalai Lama has! Some spiritual leader.