First youth educational camp in Europe gets underway

Thursday, 19 July 2007, 12:30 p.m

Lama Karta Rinpcohe, spiritual director, Yeuten Ling Institute addressing the Tibetan youth educational camp

Brussels: In collaboration with the EU Coordination Office in Brussels, the Yeunten Ling Institute is currently organising a ten-day youth educational camp on the preservation of the Tibetan cultural heritage in exile.

A welcome reception for the 20 Tibetan participants was hosted on 16 July at the Naropa Institute in Cazaland, a branch of Yeuten Ling Institute.

In his welcome speech, Lama Karta Rinpoche, spiritual director of Yeunten Ling Institute, said that His Holiness suggested the idea of such an educational camp when he visited the Institute last year.

Rinpoche expressed his pleasure that the first ten-day educational camp in Europe has materialized as per the wishes of His Holiness, and also thanked the participants for their keen interest.

Young Tibetan participants at the educational camp in session

Addressing the participants, Mr Jampal Chosang, representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, explained the programme and goals of the educational camp, in addition to the rules and regulations of the Naropa Institute.

Mr Chosang also spoke on how His Holiness always calls for a more balanced spiritual and material development, adding that the technologically advanced Western counteries are today increasingly warming up to eastern spiritual traditions, particularly Tibetan Buddhism.

In her speech, Jan van der Veer, president of the Institute, gave a detailed explanation on the history of the area that now constitutes the Naropa Insitute.

Resource persons at the camp include Lama Karta Rinpoche, Geshe Lhakdor, director of Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Kasur Jetsun Pema, former president of Tibetan Children’s Village, Lama Soepa, spiritual director of Nalanda Institute, Mr Tsewang Norbu, political activist and Mr Tenzin Topgyal Langtroe, chief editor of Tibetan Newsletter in Switzerland.

The first day concluded with a screening of the film Tibet “History of Tragedy” by Ludovic Segarra, which has relevance to Mr Tsewang Norbu’s session on outline of the history of Tibet. Geshe Lhakdor will teach the 37 Practices of Bodhisattva during entire course of the educational camp.

–Report filed by EU Coordination Office, Brussels