Pavilion of Tibetan Culture
 
Current events and exhibitions
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Workshop "On the Path of Time" -
Create your own Mala (see .pdf).
A sharing with Tokiko Loli
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A silent concentration in memory and honour of Mr Ajoy Bagchi,
member of Governing Board, who passed away on March 5th in New Delhi,
will be held
on Friday March 9th, at the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture, at 5.00 pm.
~ all are welcome ~
The Working Committee
Friends of Mr Bagchi
Walking into Exile
The Dalai Lama arrives in Tawang
(March 31 to April 18, 1959)
The exhibition will be inaugurated by Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, former Kalon Tripa (Tibetan Prime Minister) on Saturday 28 March at 5 pm.
It will be followed by a talk by Samdhong Rinpoche on My Vision of Future Tibet.
All are welcome!
On March 31, 1959, the Dalai Lama and an entourage crossed over to India at Khenzimane in today’s Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
He was received by a senior officer of the Ministry of External Affairs and the local Assistant Political Officer who handed over to him a message from Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India: “My colleagues and I welcome you and send greetings on your safe arrival in India. We shall be happy to afford the necessary facilities to you, your family and entourage to reside in India. The people of India, who hold you in great veneration, will no doubt accord their traditional respect to your personage. Kind regards to you.”
The Pavilion of Tibetan Culture invites to an exceptional exhibition of rare photos of the first days of the Tibetan leader as a refugee in India.
We have added more recent photos of Tawang district, particularly the majestic Gompa (monastery) and Urgyeling, the birth place of Tsangyang Gyatso, the Sixth Dalai Lama a few kilometers South of Tawang town.
An excerpt from the Dalai Lama in his autobiography Freedom in Exile
(Entering India on March 31, 1959)
“…After bidding these people [his Khampa bodyguards] a tearful farewell, I was helped on to the broad back of a dzomo, for I was still too ill to ride a horse. And it was on this humble form of transport that I left my native land.
…We must have been a pitiful sight to the handful of Indian guards that met us at the border - eighty travellers, physically exhausted and mentally wretched from our ordeal. I was delighted, however, that an official I knew from my visit two years earlier was there to rendezvous with us. He explained that his orders were to escort me to Bomdila, a large town that lay a further week's travel away, for rest.”
The exhibition will remain open till March 1.
Well Being (Pranayama) Workshop of 7 Sessions
7:00 AM to 8:00 AM at Pavilion of Tibetan Culture
From 28th October (Friday) to 3rd November (Thursday) 2011
(see program)
 
 
Glimpses on the History of Tibet
 On January 20, 2009, His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Auroville to inaugurate the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture. Before leaving, he suggested
that we work on an exhibition on the History of Tibet. The present display is our answer to His Holiness.
Long before the introduction of Buddhism, Tibet looked ‘inside’ to discover the secrets of the Spirit. This is clearly the thread linking these
glimpses of the political history of the Roof of the World.
We have faced several difficulties in preparing the exhibition. The main one was how to slice several millennia of history in 25 portions without
betraying the flow of events and people. Impossible said the experts; unfortunately (in fact fortunately) we had no choice but to try. This
exhibition should be seen as 25 snapshots of this ancient nation’s history.
The two thankas presented by His Holiness gave a direction to our search.
The first, depicts Santarakshita and Padmasambhava, who established the roots of Buddhism in Tibet, particularly the Nalanda lineage and the Indian Tantrik tradition respectively; the second thanka of the Three Religious Kings demonstrates the military strength of the Tibetan Empire at one point in history; in His Holiness’s words: “There have been occasions when Tibetan rulers conquered vast areas of China and other neighbouring states. This, however, does not mean that we Tibetans can lay claim to these territories.”
These Glimpses show that in the past Tibet was an independent nation
and though for sometime it lived in isolation, during most of the last 4000
years Tibet had constant contacts and interactions with the  neighbouring nations and often influenced other cultures.
Link to the exhibition pages
Two interesting workshops took place in
the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture during
the months of May and July 2009:
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF TIBETAN SETTLEMENTS:
STRENGTHENING COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES
Auroville, Pondicherry and Chennai, Tamil Nadu from May 10-16, 2009
(read report)
and
Consolidated report of Solid Waste Management,
Organic farming and Project Cycle Management
from 13th - 16th July 2009
(read report)
See the Archive of previous Events and exhibitions from 2007 to 2009
See the Archive of previous Events and exhibitions from 2005 to 2007
A prayer for peace
Message from His Holiness The Dalai Lama
I am very happy to know that on the last day of the year a mandala of light and prayers for peace will be offered at the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture in Auroville.
It is easy simply to pray for peace without doing much to bring it about, but I feel that such prayers will be both more effective and more fulfilling when combined with the simple practice of offering light.
This is a longstanding Buddhist tradition said to give rise to many benefits that include enhancing the wisdom being able to distinguish what is right from what is wrong and eliminating the darkness of ignorance, which is equated with the misconception of inherent existence.
It is further said that as a result of offering light, even while turning in the cycle of existence we will always find illumination and we will eventually become a light for the world. Another explanation equates offering light to the stability and clarity of patience. We cannot practise patience without wisdom and compassion, which is why it also contributes to overcoming ignorance.
Patience that is compared to light does not denote weakness, but rather strength of mind, the clear, stable nature of the mind that is not disturbed by other forces. Such patience has great qualities, like the clarity that knows what is to be done, what is necessary and what is not necessary.
Finally, it is easy to see that light has a pervasive and uplifting quality.
Therefore, I pray that as this year gives way to the next, due to the merit generated by your offerings and prayers on this occasion, the light of peace may shine clearly throughout the world.
THE DALAI LAMA (SIGNED)
December 28, 2005
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