Since our founding in 1987, Tibet House US has had the honor of hosting a number of teachings and conference with H.H. the Dalai Lama. He has shared his wisdom with tens of thousands of Tibetans and Tibet House US supporters. Sometimes, as was the case at the Longevity & Optimum Health Conference pictured below, His Holiness appears in conjunction with an interdisciplinary conference. On other occasions, he delivers Dharma teachings and inspirational talks.

On his visit in 2006, for example, he offered teachings on the text known as the Blade Wheel of Mind Transformation. Recordings of these sessions are available on DVD in the Tibet House US store.

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

We have collaborated on conferences and projects with many museums, universities, and institutions including the Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, Asia Society, Columbia University, and the New York Open Center, among others.

Through these collaborations Tibet House US seeks to reveal the utility of the Tibetan and Buddhist “Inner Sciences” of psychology, philosophy, ethics, and meditation within the context of established Western, scientific, and social disciplines. We feel that the value of Tibetan Buddhist culture is most clearly demonstrated in the practical application of its time honed practices and principles. Consequently our conferences and workshops are based on relevant current issues and draw from many different cultural and scientific traditions.

Quintessence of Compassion (May 4th, 2009)
Beacon Theatre, New York, New York

BLADE WHEEL OF MIND TRANSFORMATION
BEACON THEATRE, NEW YORK, NY (September 2006)

Over the course of this three days’ teaching, His Holiness explained the seminal Buddhist text known as the Blade Wheel of Mind Transformation. This teaching is characterized by its focus on practical advice for turning adversity into advantage on the spiritual path from ignorance and suffering to enlightenment and freedom.

Longevity & Optimal Health:
Integrating Eastern & Western Perspecectives
Menla Mountain Retreat, Phoenicia, NY (September 2006)

Menla was the site of a groundbreaking & historic conference with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibetan doctors, yogis, and a group of leading Western scientists. The conference was convened by co-hosts Robert Thurman of Tibet House US and Dr. Mehmet Oz of the Columbia Integrative Medicine Program to discuss recent revolutionary discoveries in the Western life sciences of longevity, regeneration, immunology, and neuroscience and their potential common ground with the ancient Indo-Tibetan tradition of yogic science.

Standing left to right: Gehlek Rimpoche, Joseph Loizzo, William Bushell, Kevin Tracy, Frank Lipman, Mehmet Oz, H.H. Dalai Lama, Anders Ericsson, Rober t Thurman, Cynthia Hustad, Geshe Tsondu, Choyang Phuntsok, Diana Fosha Seated: Lobsang Rabgye, Elizabeth Blackburn, Neil Theise, Tenzin Dakpa, Tashi Rabten, Elissa Epel.

Ethical Revolution and the World Crisis
Town Hall, New York, NY (September 2003)

Dialogue on the “Ethical Revolution” H.H. the Dalai Lama called for in his book, Ethics for the New Millennium. H.H. Dalai Lama met with leading activist figures in environmentalism: David Crow, Randall Hayes; media: Amy Goodman, Katrina vanden Heuvel, Susan Sarandon; economics: Ben Cohen, Amy Domini, Paul Hawken, Russell Simmons and politics: Dr. Helen Caldicott, Con. Dennis Kucinich, Rev. Al Sharpton to discuss how to further such a critically needed transformation of the codes of conduct that govern individual and national actions. THUS President Robert Thurman served as moderator and there was audience participation in a “Town Hall meeting” format.

Researching the Health Effects of Advanced Meditation
Beth Israel Hospital New York, NY (May 1998)

Organized jointly by Tibet House US, The INN (Institute of Neuroscience and Neurosurgery) at Beth Israel Hospital, and the Columbia-Presbyterian Center for Meditation and Healing, the conference consisted of a two-day presentation and examination of the state of scientific research into the effects of the mind on the body; measured in temperature changes, chemical balances, perception of and tolerance for physical phenomena such as pain, and the like. In tandem with this purely scientific evaluation, consideration was given to practical issues such as the viability of improving patients care and ameliorating doctors’ and nurses’ chronic stress through the application of appropriate meditation practices and “mind-training” drawn from the Buddhist and medical traditions.

In the Spirit of Manjushri: The Wisdom Teachings of Buddhism Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY (May 1998)

A three-day Dharma teaching co-sponsored by the Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association for a mixed audience of overseas Chinese (from Taiwan) and Westerners. The main discourse - on the topic of the Wisdom of Emptiness as it is characterized in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practice - was originally given to the 5th Dalai Lama by the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri, and then handed down through successive incarnations and teachers to the present day.

Peacemaking: The Power of Nonviolence
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA (June 1997)

Bringing together scores of educators, policy makers, community activists, Nobel Peace Laureates, youth activists and advocates, as well as meditators to discuss the practical application of the theories and principles of nonviolent opposition to abuse and injustice on a number of different levels ranging from the individual to the international and with particular reference to tried and true methods.

Democracy and Diversity
Columbia University, New York, NY (1992)

A conference to explore the possibilities for nurturing democratic institutions and practices in the Asia-Pacific region, with specific focus on the current China-Tibet situation, was held at the Columbia University International Affairs building including, among others, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Winston and Bette Bao Lord, Wei Ming Du, and Fang Lizhu. Bringing together members of the Chinese Democracy movement, the Tibetan Government in exile, Western activists, Human Rights advocates, and scholars the conference examined the likely causes and consequences of encouraging and then strengthening burgeoning democratic movements among the peoples of Asia.

World Sciences in Dialog I, II & III
Amherst, Massachusetts, (1984)
Harvard/MIT (1991)
Columbia University, New York (1994)

A continuing east-west symposium on science and philosophy with particular emphasis on the points of mutual interest to “Eastern” philosophy and science (as well as religion in general) - called the “Inner Sciences,” - on the one hand, and to the “Western” “hard” sciences on the other.  These small conferences - the first held at Amherst College in 1984. the second at Harvard in 1991, and the third at Columbia University in 1995 - brought together such pundits as H. H. the Dalai Lama, Robert Nozick, and the late Father Thomas Berry.