Tibet Week, 2008

Presented by the Emory-Tibet Partnership in conjunction with the Program in South Asian Studies and the Claus M. Halle Institute

Emory Students for a Free Tibet and the Emory-Tibet Partnership Host Prayer Vigil and Peace March for Tibet

Prayer Vigil: Tuesday through Friday, March 18-21, 5:00 pm, University Quad in front of Carlos Museum
March for Peace and Human Rights in Tibet: Saturday, March 22, 12:00 noon. Begins at the Carlos Museum.

In response to the events in Tibet this past week, the Emory chapter of Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) is hosting a series of prayer vigils to coincide with the University’s Tibet Week events culminating in a March for Peace and Human Rights in Tibet. The vigils are taking place from Tuesday through Friday, March 18 through 21, at 5:00 pm in the University Quad in front of the Michael C. Carlos Museum. A group of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery is leading the vigils, which will include brief statements by members of the Emory community, as well as prayers and chanting in Tibetan and English in honor of the monks, nuns, and other Tibetans who have endured the brutal Chinese response to their peaceful protests this past week. The March for Peace and Human Rights in Tibet will begin immediately after the dismantling of the sacred sand mandala at the Carlos Museum at 12:00 noon on Saturday. The monks will carry the blessed sand from the mandala to Lullwater Park; everyone is invited to join in this walk for Peace and Human Rights in Tibet.

"The international community world-wide is calling upon the Chinese authorities to show restraint in their use of force in dealing with the peaceful demonstrations in Tibet, and is expressing solidarity with the Tibetans and the great difficulties they are facing," said Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, Director of the Emory-Tibet Partnership. "We appeal to the Emory and greater Atlanta communities to join us in these vigils and peace march. International pressure is the only way to impress upon the Chinese authorities the need to resolve the Tibet issue without further bloodshed."

"In these troubled times our hearts go out to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whose commitment to nonviolence shines so brightly in his response to the aggression in Tibet," said Prof. John Dunne, a leading scholar of Tibetan religion and culture at Emory's Religion Department. "The question of peace in Tibet concerns us all, not only out of principle, but also because one of the world's most precious cultural treasures is under such severe duress due to the policies of the government of the People's Republic of China. It is crucial that we lend our support to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his efforts to resolve the Tibet issue for the preservation and flourishing of Tibetan culture."

“We are deeply saddened over the loss of the life in Tibet, especially so near the Olympics, a time when people are supposed to be able to come together peacefully,” said Alexandra Power-Hays, co-president of the Emory chapter of SFT. “In line with the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is one of our professors, we have planned a peaceful way to bring the Emory community together in compassion and solidarity for the Tibetans and Chinese who were harmed in last week’s turmoil.”

Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) is a chapter-based network of young people and activists throughout the world that works in solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and independence. Through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, SFT campaigns for Tibetans' fundamental right to political freedom.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory and exiled leader of Tibet, has appealed to the Chinese leadership to "stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people." He has called for an international investigation into the crackdown against protesters in Tibet, saying the region is facing "cultural genocide."

Although very little news is leaking out of Tibet, because of a media blackout imposed by the Chinese government, there is some reliable information availalbe from the following sources: The International Campaign for Tibet (www.savetibet.org); Students for a Free Tibet (www.studentsforafreetibet.org); and Phayul (www.phayul.com). The British news media, in particular the BBC (news.bbc.co.uk/), the Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk) and the Times (www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/) also have extensive coverage on their websites.

Monday, March 17

Introduction to Tibetan Buddhist Meditation
7:00 pm, Carlos Museum Reception Hall

Brendan Ozawa-de Silva, Associate Director for Buddhist Studies and Practice Programs at Drepung Loseling Monastery Inc., will lead this introduction to meditation. Participants should wear comfortable clothes and may bring mats or cushions.

Tuesday, March 18

Sand Mandala, Opening Ceremony
12:00 pm, Carlos Museum Reception Hall

Buddhist monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery will construct a sand mandala depicting the Green Tara with millions of grains of beautifully colored sand. Green Tara is a female Buddha beloved in Tibet and renowned for her great compassion and ability to aid sentient beings. In one story of her origins, we learn that in a previous life the future Buddha Tara was told that she should pray to be reborn as a man. She responded that male and female have no ultimate reality, and she then vowed to remain in a female form in all her lives up to and including her final life as a Buddha. Another story relates that she was born from the tears of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

Viewing times:
Tuesday 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm
Wednesday through Friday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am - noon (Closing ceremony begins at noon)

Film: Dreaming Lhasa (2005, 90 min.)
7:00 pm, Carlos Museum Reception Hall

Dreaming Lhasa, the first dramatic feature by documentary filmmakers Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, depicts the story of Karma, a Tibetan filmmaker from New York, who comes to Dharamsala in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas to make a documentary about former political prisoners who have escaped from Tibet. She wants to reconnect with her roots but is also escaping a deteriorating relationship back home. One of Karma's interviewees is Dhondup, an enigmatic ex-monk who has just escaped from Tibet. He confides in her that his real reason for coming to India is to fulfill his dying mother's last wish, to deliver a charm box to a long-missing resistance fighter. Karma finds herself unwittingly falling in love with Dhondup even as she is sucked into the passion of his quest, which becomes a journey into Tibet's fractured past and a voyage of self-discovery.

Dr. Eve Mullen, Assistant Professor of Religion at Oxford College, will introduce the film.

"Compelling … A fine example of how feature films can be used to deliver urgent political messages." – Matt Zoller Seitz, The New York Times

India/UK, 2005 1:1.85, 35mm, 90 minutes, Tibetan/English

Wednesday, March 19

Global Mandala: Reflections on Transnational Tibetan Buddhism
7:00 pm, Carlos Museum Reception Hall

We are honored to host Dr. Abraham Zablocki, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Agnes Scott College, and a scholar of the contemporary globalization of Buddhism, who will give a lecture on Tibetan Buddhism in a transnational context.

Thursday, March 20

The Launching of the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative
7:00 pm, Carlos Museum Reception Hall

This event will feature presentations and discussion by Emory Science faculty members Dr. PV Rao and Dr. Alex Escobar on their recent experience of teaching science to Tibetan monks and nuns at the historic launching of the Emory Tibet Science Initiative in India.

On January 7, 2008, His Holiness the Dalai Lama officially inaugurated and launched the initiave in front of over 40,000 monastics and laypersons at Drepung Loseling Monastic University in Mundgod, South India, together with a delegation from Emory University headed by Dr. Gary Hauk, Vice President and Deputy to the President of Emory University. That evening, and for the next two evenings, Emory science faculty lectured to over 2,000 monks and nuns on biology, neuroscience, and cosmology.

The project, the first phase of which will take place over the next five years, arises from His Holiness the Dalai Lama's vision for an education that brings together the best of both science and spirituality. As His Holiness has written, "Today in the first decade of the twenty-first century, science and spirituality have the potential to be closer than ever, and to embark upon a collaborative endeavor that has far-reaching potential to help humanity meet the challenges before us.”

Friday, March 21

Tibetan Sand Painting Workshop for Children
6:30-8:30 pm, Tate Room, Carlos Museum

In this workshop, children will have a special opportunity to observe and talk with the monks at work on the mandala, then they will create their own personal multi-colored sand paintings using traditional copper tools and brightly colored sand. Admission is free, but pre-registration required by calling (404)727-0519.

Gallery Tour
7:00 pm, Asian Galleries

Museum docent Marguerite Ingram discusses Buddhist sculptures in the Museum’s permanent collection.

Saturday, March 22

Sand Mandala Closing Ceremony, followed by March for Peace and Human Rights in Tibet
12:00pm, Carlos Museum Reception Hall

The closing ceremony will begin with trumpet blasts, mantra recitation and the sweeping away of the mandala, and will conclude with a March for Peace and Human Rights in Tibet from the Carlos Museum to the Baker Woodland led by the monks. The sand is then decanted into the waters so that its healing energies can be carried throughout the world.

The Emory Tibet Partnership is grateful to the following departments and programs for their continued support and co-sponsorship: The Michael C. Carlos Museum, The Program in South Asian Studies, The Center for International Programs Abroad, The Institute for Comparative and International Studies, The Claus M. Halle Institute, Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc., Emory College, Students for a Free Tibet, The Emory Religion Department, The Emory East Asian Studies Program, The Emory Mind-Body Program, and The Hightower Fund.

All events are free and open to the public. No tickets are required.

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