The Tibet Center's New York City Temple Project

As the oldest Tibetan Buddhist center in New York City our vision is to enable the spiritual development of all New Yorkers regardless of religious preference. To complement this mission we have established a building fund and have achieved the first third of our goal. The completed project will include:

  • A spacious quiet atmosphere conducive to study and reflection
  • An open forum for discussion among all religions
  • A venue for public talks, lectures, and religious ceremonies
  • A library, reading room, and learning center


Your generous involvement in the project will enormously benefit the entire community.

As we turn to a new year join us in creating this unique ecumenical space. Please consider a tax-deductible donation of any amount toward this worthwhile endeavor.

Make a donation >

Thubten Tsering Lingtsang

Guest lecturer Thubten Tsering Lingtsang spoke on "The Life of Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, Senior Tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama."

At the age of 13, Thubten Tsering Lingtsang was appointed by the government of Tibet to the post of attendant to the late Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, a task he performed  to the end of Rinpoche’s life. He is currently the administrator of Ling Labrang, the household of the current Ling Rinpoche.

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Wasifuddin Dagar Concert for Peace and Harmony to Benefit The Tibet Center

USTAD F.WASIFUDDIN DAGAR

 

w/MOHAN SHYAM SHARMA

 

Pakhawaj

Friday June 13, 2008 7:30pm

Dhrupad is the most ancient form of Indian classical music. It evolved from recitations of the Sam Veda - the Sam gaan - prayer chants that also transmitted the holy text to the next generation. Dhrupad has a well defined structural arrangement. The recitation begins with the alap – a meditative rendering of the melody without accompaniment from a percussion instrument. The alap gives the artist ample opportunity to improvise. Only a tanpura provides support to the dhrupadiya during the alap. It is followed by the dhrupad. The dhrupad is a prayer sung with rhythmic accompaniment from a pakhawaj. The pakhawaj is a two headed drum with a deep mellow sound, more suitable for the meditative nature of the dhrupad than the tabla which accompanies the khayal.

The Dagar family has dedicated themselves to the preservation of the dhrupad form. The dagarvani dhrupad has traditionally been performed as a Jugalbandi (duet). This traditional rendering of dhrupad preserves the emotional appeal while adding the richness of intricate rhythmic patterns and spontaneity. Young vocalist Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar continues this 20 generation unbroken tradition of the Dagar family. He is the nephew of Ustad N. Zahiruddin Dagar and son of Ustad N. Faiyazuddin Dagar, the legendary younger “Dagar Brothers”. After continuing the jugalbandi tradition with his uncle till his demise in 1994, Wasif (shorted form of his name) has successfully presented the dynamic of a duet in a solo performance by maintaining the distinct musical approaches and styles of both his father and uncle. His innovative alap notes are spacious and colorful, ranging across the three octaves delineating the personality of the raga in great clarity. Over the years he has developed subtle variations and improvisations by modulation of volume and sound application to present many shades of the same musical phrase. The composite effect of his dhrupad rendition remains traditional, merging techniques and styles of both his teachers. His is very popular with young listeners for his lively lecture demonstrations illustrating old Vedic technicalities through metaphors from daily life. Wasif has a number of recordings on cassettes and CDs including a five CD collection (Jecklin Musichaus).

He is accompanied by Mohan Shyam Sharma, one of the leading pakhawaj masters in India. He has accompanied leading vocal and instrumental masters and appeared in concerts across Europe, and the United States. He has been performing with Wasif for several years.

David Ellenbogen of WKCR 89.9FM interviews Wasif and broadcasted the Concert for Peace and Harmony to benefit The Tibet Center on his 'Raag Aur Tal' show June 29, 2008.

Listen to the interview and Concert

Kalachakra Temple 2001

This statue of Kalachakra, Wheel of Time, was commissioned by Khyongla Rato Rinpoche with the participation of members and friends of The Tibet Center. It commemorates the bestowal of the Kalachakra initation in New York City in 1991 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, given at the request of Richard Gere and The Tibet Center. It was sculpted by the master statue maker of the Tibetan Government in Exile, Penpa Dorjee, under the guidnce of His Holiness.

Dalai Lama's visit to NYC 1999

In August of 1999, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was invited by The Tibet Center and The Gere Foundation to give a series of talks in New York City. The talks were to focus on how we can open our hearts and develop true and lasting compassion toward all beings.

The subject of the lectures given at the Beacon Theater centered on the Buddhist methods by which one achieves ultimate enlightenment. He wove together the contents of two texts, the Middle-Length Stages of Meditation by the eight-century Indian master Kamalashila, and the Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas by the fourteenth-century Tibetan practitioner Togmay Sangpo.

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Kalachakra Initiation 1991

Buddhist Tantra is a method by which a practitioner can attain the ultimate state of enlightenment most rapidly. In order to enter the Tantric path we must have a profound desire to help others, extraordinary compassion wishing to remove their suffering, and vast loving kindness wishing to provide them with all they need and wish for. We must also have some realization of the ultimate truth, the emptiness of inherent existence of ourselves and all phenomena.

One year after Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment, he gave his most important teaching on the ultimate truth. He delivered this sermon on Vulture’s Peak, in what is today the state of Bihar, India. The Buddha simultaneously manifested in Amaravathi, in the state of Andra Pradesh, in order to initiate the kind of Shambhala into the Tantric practice of Kalachakra, Wheel of Time. The Kalachakra Tantra subsequently became the state religious practice of Shambhala.

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