Box office opens July 6
NEW YORK, June 27: His Holiness the Dalai Lama will return to New York for three days of teachings on the Diamond Cutter Sutra and Seventy Verses on Emptiness. Hosted by The Tibet Center and Healing the Divide, the teachings will be followed by a public talk and will take place at Radio City Music Hall on October 12, 13, and 14.
“Though we may aspire to attain enlightenment in order to benefit others, we must question whether such inner evolution is possible,” said Khyongla Rato, Founder of The Tibet Center.
“In the Diamond Cutter Sutra, the Buddha teaches how there is no actual self to become enlightened. Nagarjuna goes on to explain this notion of selflessness as the basis for any inner change and all virtue,” he added.
“We are honored to have His Holiness the Dalai Lama with us again to present Buddhism’s most profound teachings on emptiness and the path to enlightenment,” said Richard Gere, founder of Healing the Divide. “It is an extraordinary opportunity for everyone, and especially us New Yorkers, to receive the essential wisdom teachings, the core insight of the Buddha from a genuine spiritual master, tested and true. This is not to be missed.”
An English translation of The Diamond Cutter Sutra by the Buddha and Seventy Verses on Emptiness by Nagarjuna will be printed in the teaching program. During the event, His Holiness’s teachings will be simultaneously translated into Chinese and Vietnamese.
On October 12th and 13th, the teaching schedule will run from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., and 2 – 4 p.m. On October 14th, there will be one teaching session from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. A Public Talk will follow at 2 p.m. Tickets will be sold separately. The box office opens July 6 for the Teachings and August 1 for the Public Talk, with both sets of tickets available at http://www.radiocity.com/ or by calling 212-307-5554. (More information, at www.dalailamany.org)
About Healing the Divide
Founded by Richard Gere in 2001, Healing the Divide is dedicated to collaborative solutions to humanitarian crises that threaten the development and welfare of marginalized communities throughout the world. Through the development of unique partnerships the New York-based nonprofit aims to create forums in which public health, social development and cultural inclusiveness can thrive.
Healing the Divide operates The Tibetan Health Initiative, a program created in honor of Ribur Rinpoche that provides health insurance to more than five thousand Tibetan monks and nuns living in refugee settlements in India. The organization also runs The Heroes Project, India’s largest nongovernmental media campaign against HIV/AIDS. The Heroes Project has been instrumental in mainstreaming HIV/AIDS messaging throughout the country. (More information, at www.healingthedivide.org)
About The Tibet Center
Founded in 1975 by the Reverend Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, a scholar and reincarnate lama of the Gelugpa order of Tibetan Buddhism, The Tibet Center provides a place where members and the general public can explore Buddhist teachings and practices as well as those of other faith communities.
Currently at The Tibet Center, the Reverend Khyongla Rato Rinpoche offers weekly classes in Buddhist practice and theory. Ancient Indian and Tibetan texts are taught alongside methods of integrating them into daily meditation and practice. The Venerable Nicholas Vreeland teaches and leads Buddhist meditation. Visiting masters regularly offer Buddhist teachings and The Tibet Center hosts weekend seminars and retreats. For more information, visit: www.thetibetcenter.org.
