First Conference of Tibetan Buddhist Centres in the Americas Held
September 22, 2003: His Holiness the Dalai Lama spent the whole day at Garrison Institute in upstate New York, where the First Conference of Tibetan Buddhist Centres of the Americas was held. This two day conference is organized by the Office of Tibet in New York, with participation by some 300 Tibetans and non-Tibetan Buddhist and Bon scholars, teachers and practitioners.
The aim of the conference is to share the experiences and challenges of teaching, studying and practicing the dharama in the Americas; to explore skilful ways of preserving and communicating the essence of Buddhism and share His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s message of universal responsibility; to develop understanding among practitioners of the basic unity of Buddha dharma across lineages so as to build a strong sense of community.
His Holiness addressed the conference and answered a number of questions from the participants. He said it is more important to become a good practitioner of ones own spiritual tradition than to covert to Buddhism and not practice it properly.
Mr. Nawang Rabgyal, Representative of H. H. the Dalai Lama for the Americas, urged the followers of all lineages to make efforts to build network and better cooperation among themselves “regardless of the lineage”. He said that all Buddhist practitioners have a moral responsibility to “work for happiness and freedom in the land of snow, the land blessed by such great Indian masters as Padmasambhava and Atisha Dipankar. “I am firmly convinced that it is part of our spiritual practice, and an important one for that matter, to make efforts to save Tibet,” he added.
Kalon Thupten Lungrig (Minister for Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration) informed the conference about the reports of immoral conducts by some dharma teachers, which, he said, would bring disrepute to the Buddha dharma.
On 23 September, the conference will break into different groups and the session will end with the reading of reports by each group.
Source: Office of Tibet, New York