03/08/07 His Holiness to visit US in April through May

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03/08/07 His Holiness to visit US in April through May

NEW YORK, March 8, 2007--Between 23 April and 9 May 2007, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will make his 34th visit to the United States. His Holiness will begin his extensive pastoral journey in Honolulu with a series of public and private engagements, and then will travel to San Francisco where he will be teaching and lecturing. His journey will then take him to Houston, Texas, then on to Madison, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. His stay in the States will end in Massachusetts. As one of the most traveled leaders in the world, he considers his overseas visits a vital part of his responsibility as a human being toward the promotion of basic human values and inter-faith harmony. In Hawaii, His Holiness will be hosted by the Maui Dharma Center, the Tibetan Cultural Conservancy Center of Maui, Ala Kukui - Hana Retreat Center. On 24 April, he will be consecrating the Lhubab stupa and blessing the new temple. His Holiness will deliver a public talk entitled "A Human Approach to World Peace". On 25 April, he will teach on one of the most beloved spiritual classics of Tibetan Buddhism, The Eight Verses of Mind Training, composed in the eleventh century by the great Kadam master, Langri Thangpa. The text instructs the listener on how to view others with a sense of deep gratitude and appreciation, seeing them "more precious than a wish-granting jewel". His Holiness the Dalai Lama chose this short classic as his text when he spoke to a gathering of over a hundred thousand people in Central Park in New York in 2002. For further information, visit: http://www.mauidharmacenter.org/HH_dalai_lama_.htm In San Francisco, His Holiness will be hosted by the Gyuto Vajrayana Center, and on 27 and 28 April he will be giving two days of commentaries and teachings on Lama Tsongkhapa's text, In Praise of Dependent Origination. Born in Amdo in eastern Tibet, Je Tsongkhapa (1391-1419) is deeply revered in Tibet as a second Buddha and was the principal teacher of many great Tibetan masters including the first Dalai Lama, Gendun Drub (1391-1474). Lama Tsongkhapa wrote extensively on all aspects of Buddhism and was so inspired by reading and meditating on the teaching of the Buddha that he spontaneously composed In Praise of Dependent Origination. This work, often memorized and chanted, is considered to be one of the most profound texts addressing the relationship between emptiness, which is the ultimate nature of reality, and dependent origination, the philosophical insight that everything comes into being thoroughly dependent upon other factors. In addition His Holiness will deliver a more general public address. All events will take place in downtown San Francisco, in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. For further information, please see: www.dalailamabay2007.com. On 1 May, His Holiness will be speaking at Rice University in Houston, Texas, a year and a half after his 22-September-2005 appearance was cancelled because of Hurricane Rita. He will be giving two talks, one for only the students of Rice University entitled "The Meaning of Compassion in Everyday Life" and the other for the general public, "Tolerance and Universal Responsibility in a Global Village". For further information, please visit: http://www.explore.rice.edu/explore/DalaiLama.asp. In Madison, Wisconsin, His Holiness will be hosted by the Ven. Geshe Lhundup Sopa of the Deer Park Buddhist Center. On 2 and 3 May, His Holiness will continue the discussion of Lama Tsongkhapa's A Destiny Fulfilled: An Account of a Personal Journey of Experience (Tokjoe Dunlekma) and Songs of Experience on the Stages of the Path (Lamrim Dudon). Je Tsongkhapa wrote extensively on many aspects of Buddhism such as the stages on the path to enlightenment, philosophical treatises on emptiness, and the theory and practice of Vajrayana. The two short texts which are scheduled to be taught by His Holiness form a most interesting pair, one narrating the account of Tsongkhapa's long journey of study of the teachings of the Buddha and their classical Indian commentaries, the second representing a poignant expression of a personal experience on the key stages on the path to enlightenment. Both of these texts are often memorized, chanted, and meditated upon by monks and serious practitioners of Buddhism. On 4 May, His Holiness will bestow the Green Tara Blessing Empowerment (Jenang). Green Tara is recognized in Tibetan Buddhism as the embodiment of the energy and action of all the Buddhas. Known as "Je Tsun Dolma," goddess Tara is one of the most well-known meditation deities in the Tibetan tradition and the chanting of her mantra, "Om Tare Tutare Ture Svaha", as well as the Praise to Twenty-One Taras remain extremely popular among both monks and laity in the vast area of the Tibetan Buddhist cultural sphere. The ceremony of Jenang represents an empowerment whereby the initiates receive special blessings of Tara. In addition, on Friday, 4 May, His Holiness will return to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to speak to the general public in their large arena. For further information, please visit: http://www.deerparkcenter.org/NewFiles/hhdl_folder/index.html On Sunday, 6 May, His Holiness will travel to Chicago where there will be two events in Millennium Park. He will be teaching The Eight Verses of Training the Mind once again and he will give a public talk on "Finding Inner Peace in a World Full of Turmoil". His Holiness will end his visit to the United States in Northampton, Massachusetts. On 9 May, Smith College, Hampshire College, and the Tibetan Association of Western Massachusetts will host His Holiness for a series of public and private events. For further information, please visit: http://www.smith.edu/dalailama/index.php In most venues His Holiness will meet with members of the local Tibetan community to discuss their welfare and to share with them words of support and encouragement. In the last forty years, His Holiness has visited 63 countries spanning six continents. He has been to the United States most often (34 times) followed closely by Germany.