By Mary Butler
To be a Tibetan refugee is also to be a teacher, always working to increase awareness about the struggles faced by their people still living under Chinese rule, said Losang Gyatso, a Boulder artist.
But there’s one day a year local Tibetans can and should “take a breather,” he said.
World Tibet Day, which honors the birthday of the Dalai Lama, will be celebrated Saturday in Central Park at Broadway and Canyon Boulevard in Boulder. On Tuesday, His Holiness turned 69.
“It’s a time when we can publicly share Tibetan culture and celebrate it,” Gyatso said.
The event, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., will offer live music by Grammy-nominated Tibetan musician Nawang Khechog, Tibetan and Himalayan folk dancing, art, antiques and traditional Himalayan fare, including handmade “momos,” which are stuffed meat or vegetable dumplings. Children’s activities include making prayer flags.
Also performing will be Wendy Woo, Freak Street Project and The Divine Band.
There are about 200 Tibetans living in the Boulder-Denver area. Many of them came here as part of a 1993 Tibetan resettlement project, for which more than 20 local residents volunteered as immigrant sponsors.
Also attracting Tibetans to Boulder was Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who founded the Boulder Shambhala Meditation Center 30 years ago and also founded the Buddhist-inspired and Boulder-based Naropa University. The Tibetan Buddhist meditation master, artist, author and poet died in 1987.
Buddhism is alive and well in Boulder. In fact, yet another Buddhist community happening joins World Tibet Day this weekend in Boulder. Bhutanese monks traveled here this week as part of a tour to spread knowledge about Drukpa Kagyu, the official lineage of Buddhism in Bhutan. His Holiness, Lopen Ngawang Tenzin Rinpoche, the highest reincarnation of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage, gave three days of teachings.
While World Tibet Day presents an opportunity to learn about the nonpolitical side of Tibet, separating the politics from the culture is easier said than done, said Kalsang Yangzom, the event emcee.
“You really can’t talk about the Tibetan people without touching on the political aspect of us,” she said.
Tibet gained independence from China in 1911 but lost it in 1949 after a military invasion and the installation of a communist government. A decade later, a Tibetan uprising in China and Tibet was violently halted by Chinese troops. Buddhism, the Tibetan state religion, was effectively suppressed.
The Dalai Lama, Tibetans’ spiritual leader, and 100,000 Tibetans fled to exile in India. The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent struggle against Chinese rule in Tibet.
The continued fight for human rights and religious freedom inspired the creation of World Tibet Day in 1998. Now the event is held in 56 cities in 24 countries.
Saturday’s event will mark the Tibetan Association of Colorado’s second annual World Tibet Day.
A photo exhibition at the Boulder celebration will document the lives of political prisoners since the Chinese invasion and a few speakers are scheduled to talk about the ongoing fight for independence, Yangzom said.
“I just hope that people will get the real situation of the Tibetan people,” she said. “We need to show people that we need their support to preserve our culture.”
Contact Camera Staff Writer Mary Butler at (303) 473-1390 or butlerm@dailycamera.com.
