Tibetan to receive Ellis Island Medal of Honor Wednesday, 6 May 2009, 4:30 p.m.

Venerable Lama Pema Wangdak

Dharamshala: Venerable
Lama Pema Wangdak will become the first Tibetan to be awarded the Ellis
Island Medal of Honor by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organization
(NECO) Foundations at Ellis Island in New York on Saturday, 9 May. The
ceremony, which begins at 6:00 pm, is followed by a gala dinner in
Ellis Island’s Great Hall.This award is presented to those who
exemplify outstanding qualities in both their personal and professional
lives, while continuing to preserve the richness of their particular
heritage.Ellis Island Medal of Honor is one of the most
prestigious awards, recognised by the US Senate and the House of
representatives. Past medallists include Supreme Court justices, Nobel
Prize winners, six presidents of the United States.NECO’s
nomination letter to Lama Pema Wangdak notes, ” The Buddhist community
in New York City is a diverse as it is around the globe. Your position
as a leader and teacher of peace, tolerance and diversity is to be
celebrated. Our country and its citizens will benefit from your insight
and vision.””Americas’s future depends on the understanding and
appreciation of all faiths. Your role as a spiritual leader in this
great city will no doubt be as challenging as it will be rewarding,”
the letter added.Venerable Lama Pema Wangdak is the director of
the Palden Sakya Centers and the Vikramsila Foundation in New York,
which offer courses in Tibetan Buddhist studies and meditation. He
was born in Purang in Western Tibet in 1954 and resettled with his
family in a refugee camp in Mundgod, South India. He began his learning
at the age of seven from monastery and graduated from Central Institute
of Higher Tibetan Studies in Benaras, India, from which he received his
Master’s degree from in1980.  He is a disciple of His Eminence Sakya
Gongma Rinpoche and other great masters of the Sakya School of Tibetan
Buddhism. His other humanitarian works include the creation
“Bur Yig” –Tibetan Braille system and establishment of The Pema Tsal
Monastic Institute in Nepal and in India to nurture and educate
students in the Tibetan refugee community.