New York: Sakya Gongma Trichen Rinpoche who was inaugurating the Phuntsok Deshe Community Centre of New York and New Jersey Tibetans this Sunday made an impassioned plea for Tibetans to rise above regionalism and collectively endeavour in the greater interest of Tibet.
The former supreme head of the Sakya Buddhist tradition said the unity of the six million Tibetans is paramount to the success of the Tibetan political struggle.
Alongside Rinpoche, CTA President Dr Lobsang Sangay also addressed the event.
Some 2000 Tibetans from across North America attended the inauguration of the new community centre in New York.
Deeming the significance of Tibetan language in preserving Tibetan identity and its Buddhist heritage, Rinpoche noted the weekend language classes led by Tibetan volunteers in North America as commendable initiative and exhorted the diaspora community to continue to vigorously imbibe the language in daily interactions.
He said parents, in particular, must make sure to converse with your children in Tibetan. Rinpoche also warned against giving in to the western culture and way of life.
Instead of bickering over trivial matters-which Rinpoche described was not only useless on a personal level but also fatal to the greater cause of Tibet-he asked them to revisit the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in which he persistently emphasised the potential of Tibetan language and Buddhist culture; and the ethical revolution that we as guardians of this tradition would bring to the world.
Rinpoche ended his remarks with a reverence-filled tribute to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.