Join Robert Thurman, Marianne Williamson & others for this New York Open Center & Tibet House US co-sponsored conference at Menla Mountain Retreat October 1st -6th, 2010!
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Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed author and lecturer. Four of her eight books, including A Return to Love, and her latest, Everyday Grace, have been No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. She also founded Project Angel Food, a meals-on-wheels program that serves over 1000 homebound people in the Los Angeles area daily, and co-founded the Global Renaissance Alliance (GRA), a worldwide network of peace activists.
Art of Dying: Living, Dying & Being In BetweenMenla Mountain Retreat & Conference CenterOctober 1st-6th, 2010 | ![]() ![]() |

CINEMA VILLAGE
Please visit www.tibetinsong.com for more information
TRACE FOUNDATION EVENTS AT THE LATSE LIBRARY
Interdependent Diversities: The Relationship between Language, Culture, and Ecology
Friday, September 24 (6 – 8 pm)
Saturday, September 25 (10 am – 5 pm)
Each language is a unique key to a community’s world view and culture and plays a central role in transmitting historically-developed knowledge about specific, biologically-diverse environments. There is an increasing awareness and recognition of linguistic, cultural, and biodiversity as inter-related and mutually supporting aspects of the diversity of life. As such, the crises affecting these aspects—from biological extinction to disappearing languages—appear to converge and even drive each other on. Understanding the integrated nature of these crises is essential to working towards solutions.
As part of the UN-declared International Year of Biodiversity, on Friday and Saturday, September 24th and 25th, 2010, Trace Foundation will convene the fifth lecture in its lecture series Minority Languages in Today’s Global Society. In this event, we will examine the relationship between linguistic, cultural, and biological diversity from the perspectives of traditional land use, livelihoods, and medical knowledge.
To register, please download the registration form here and fax or email it to us. You may also call or email us with your name, contact email, telephone, affiliation, and mailing address. Contact:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
, tel: 212-367-7380 fax: 212-367-7383.
Location:
Trace Foundation/Latse Library
132 Perry Street, Suite 2B
New York, NY 10014
www.trace.org
www.latse.org
Directions:
Located in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan.
A, C, E, L trains to 14th St./8th Ave. Station
1, 2, 3 trains to 14th St./7th Ave. Station
PATH trains to Christopher St. Station
Click here for Google maps
The NY Open Center & Tibet House US present Christ & Buddha
with Robert A.F. Thurman & Marianne Williamson at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on June 10th.
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AN EVENING TALK & DIALOGUE Thursday, June 10, 7–9 PM *Please contact NY Open Center to register
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Notes from the Menla Mountain Community: A letter from the Manager of Administration and Operations on the start of the 2010 retreat season.
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The new group of staff for the 2010 retreat season has arrived. We’ve just completed 3 days of orientation and training with them. I am delighted to report that they are an exceptional group of people who are friendly, helpful and enthusiastic. They are all looking forward to being of service to our visitors, both new and returning guests. Also, new to the Menla team is the addition of our caretaker Henry. Henry is an iron man triathlete. He has participated in over a dozen competitions. No maintenance task is too big or too small for him to handle. This week we kick-off our retreat season with both an in-house, Tibet House US sponsored program and a rental group. Tibet House US/ Menla is hosting John Campbell, Richard Freeman & Robert Thurman for Buddha and the Yogis. The North West Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition is here for a gathering of social justice groups in New York State. Some of the organizations represented are Jobs with Justice, New York Immigration Coalition & Citizen Action. Looking forward to meeting new friends and seeing returning ones this season! Happy Spring! For information regarding commuter rates please call (845) 688-6897. Tania Robyn Cyrlin, Manager of Administration and Operations 4/14/10 |
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Notes from the Menla Mountain Community: First blog in a new series from the retreat center staff & volunteers.
As we finish preparing for another incredible retreat season here at Menla, I want to remind people that there are many ways to interface with us. People, of course, can rent space here to facilitate a retreat for others, or attend one the many programs that happen here each year. People can work here as seasonal staff, living, working, and growing personally in our magical valley. Locals can come for a walk or hike or just to say hello. And we're always looking for volunteers--we handle an immense amount of work with a very limited number of staff, and there is always much to do. However it is people are drawn to Menla, I've noticed over the years that people get out of it what they put into it. I see Menla's pristine mountain valley and forest as a kind of karmic magnifying glass--allowing people to take a closer look at what lies beneath the surface of their daily lives. And this goes for the dreamscape as well. I've had innumerable extremely vivid dreams here and have had the pleasure of hearing others' dreams as well. Perhaps it's the fact that our mountain sits on top of the oldest known meteor impact crater on Earth and has a gravitational field that is less than it should be. Perhaps it is the collective accumulation of tens of thousands of people's inner work here since the 60s. Or perhaps it's simply the fact that this is one of the most beautiful hidden realms of the East Coast. Regardless, a visit to Menla--however brief or extended--will definitely change your life. I invite you to discover the magic of Menla for the first time or, if you've already graced the land with your presence, keep coming back! We deeply appreciate the collective matrix that keeps us growing year after year! I highly recommend walking or sitting by our babbling brook, the Pantherkill Stream, and listening to the voices of Nature, or taking a hike up one of the rock-laden ridges that embrace the valley. Some of the best moments seem to happen on one's own, when one can digest the personal meaning of whatever teachings one has come here for. Michael Burbank, Administration & Operations Assistant 4/6/10
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Tibet House US is proud to annouce the XX Annual Benefit Concert to be held on Friday, February 26th, 2010.
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Philip Glass, the concert's esteemed Artistic Director and Vice President of Tibet House US, has once again created an incredible show. 2010 Concert Line-up to date
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Losar, Tibetan New Year, begins on February 14th with prayer & community gatherings across the globe
| Westerners who joked they were glad to see 2009 gone, hoping for a better 2010, may find kindred spirits in the Tibetans this month. Though on the traditional Tibetan calendar it is 2136 being bid a fond farewell to and 2137 being greeted. Losar, the Tibetan New Year, will begin on February 14th with celebrations by Tibetan communities across the globe and will culminate with Tibet House’s XX Annual Benefit Concert At Carnegie Hall on February 26th, 2010. The Tibetan calendar is based on a lunar cycle of 60 years; it consists of 12 animals (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Donkey, Bird, Dog and Hog), which are then combined with the 5 elements (water, wood, fire, earth and iron) and two aspects (male and female). 2010 is the year of the male iron tiger (lcags-pho stag-lo) under Tibetan astrology. Tibetan systems of knowledge are inter related and the astrological calendar system is deeply tied to its comprehensive medical diagnostic methodology. Losar activities center on ushering out the old, purifying, and welcoming the new. The celebration can last between three and 14 days. The first three days of Losar are divided between giving thanks to both symbolic & material individuals locally, regionally & nationally. From elaborate food offerings made on home shrines to public festivals it is a time to display gratitude for the past year and hopes of the next to friends, family, deities and religious figures alike. The monastic community cleans and decorates the monasteries and performs special rituals evoking protective deities. The lay community embraces purification for the New Year; in the days before, new clothes are made or purchased, houses are cleaned (sometimes repainted) and decorated and new prayer flags (Tib. Lungta) are raised. The first day of Losar is traditionally spent with immediate family. Celebrants wear their new garments to signify a new beginning. There are special dishes and treats such as phagthuk and khapse, and lots of chaang – a beverage similar to beer. There are prayers in the home for purification, and for an auspicious new year. Juniper incense is burned and small amounts of barley flour (Tib. Tsampa) are thrown into the air to ensure successful livelihoods and crops. The second day tends to be when public festivals occur and the third ends with burning of traditional butter lamps. Here are some different prayer events organized by different Tibetan associations in the US:
New York City: The Tibetan Community of NY and NJ Boston, MA: Tibetan Association of Boston Seattle, WA: Tibetan Association of Washingtion
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"I will be with some of my Tibetan friends and students from Tibetan Children’s Village. When I was a child in Amdo, we spent the entire day eating, visiting with family, receiving gifts and playing with friends.” Tamding, Artist, Dharamsala “I will be with my close friends and family, eating special rice, momos and vegetables. On the first day, many people will be at temple by 3 am. In Tibet, Losar is celebrated for 14 days, in exile it is only celebrated for three.” Tashi (artist), Dharamsala "In India, we would go to the monasteries, wear new clothes, visit family and celebrate. My family would have an extensive prayer and ritual ceremony the first day of Losar, usually conducted by my father or my late grandfather.” Shenpenn (Film maker, musician), Toronto |
Written by freelance writer Heidi Minx
For more information please visit: www.builtonrespect.com
Tibetan Healing Culture Meets The Modern Spa:
Tibet House US Wellness Center at Menla Mountain Retreat Center in Phoenicia, NY.
Menla Mountain Retreat & Conference Center, operated by Tibet House US, was founded to provide a place for groups and individuals to further their professional and personal development.
Since opening in 2002, we have received rave reviews for the stunning beauty and meditative environment of our land, the high-quality of our accommodations, our nutritious and delicious gourmet meals, and the personalized nurturing care of our small dedicated staff.
Many leading professionals, yogis, shamans, and spiritual teachers have come here to offer their teachings—including H.H. XIV Dalai Lama, under whose auspices Tibet House was founded. Our magical hidden 320-acre valley sits in the heart of the Catskill National Forest Preserve and is an officially recognized Audobon Important Bird Area.
Named after the Medicine Buddha, Menla’s long-term mission is to develop into a healing arts center offering an integrated healing system combining the best of Tibetan medicine with elements of Western, Ayurvedic, and other holistictraditions.
The first of its kind, our healing arts center will help transplant the Tibetan medical tradition into the west and will serve as a leading prototype for others to follow. To this end, we are currently building an exquisite 3000 square foot two-story spa facility. The healing center will feature Far Infrared saunas, authentic Finnish saunas, steam rooms, showers, and hydrotherapy Vitality Pools. It will also house two colonics treatment rooms with
state-of-the-art equipment for deep detoxification.
Under Dr. Tashi Rabten’s expert supervision, two rooms will be dedicated solely to Tibetan herbal soaking treatments, which are especially good for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Also in conjunction with Dr. Rabten, we are working on developing our own health and wellness product line. When the facility opens, a variety of local massage and other body-work practitioners will be available to offer a wide array of wellness services.
To learn more or to help us achieve our mission, please email Michael Burbank at
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or call 845-688-6897 ext. 7513.





















