14th Annual Benefit Concert
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
Tibet House just celebrated its Tibetan New Year, with some of the greatest festivities I’ve seen in a while. It was there first concert ever, which they held at Carnegie Hall. The concert featured the works of Ray Davies, Philip Glass, Yo La Tengo, David Byrne, Bright Eyes, Keb ‘Mo’ and many others. It was a treat for everyone. Bright Eyes had a pretense—free orchestral approach to songwriting, while David Byrne, the lead singer and guitar player of the band Talking Heads’ music and lyrics, gave a phenomenal performance. The monies raised went to support the Tibet House, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the Tibetan culture.
Following this memorable concert at Carnegie was a fabulous reception at New York’s famous Roseland Ballroom, where the place was decked out with Tibetan prayer flags. There was even an auction, which was hosted by the Tibet House, again, to support its continued mission of educating the public about the Tibetan culture.
We at Liberty News had the opportunity to interview a Tibetan monk, who gave us an overview of the Tibetan lifestyle. He explained that the history of Tibet dates back probably farther than any other culture and form of religion. It was founded by Buddhist Shaki Muni over 2000 years ago. This gentleman had been following the Tibetan doctrine for nearly three years. The distinguishing characteristics of the Tibetan doctrine included an understanding of the nature of reality, the nature of mind, and the nature of all phenomena, which enable one to overcome all sorts of mental afflictions and states of suffering. It is a systematic purification of the mind which occurs over a period of time. It involved compassion for all people through the study of different texts and practices. There are four different schools which came out of Tibet, offering very vast teachings which are intended to help individuals to get a better understanding of themselves.
We had the opportunity to meet Mr. Robert A.F. Thurman, the President of Tibet House, famed author of the book “Infinite Life: Living Here and Now, Beyond and Forever,” and the father of the famous actress Uma Thurman., and also had the delight of meeting and interviewing Ms. Nena v.S. Thurman, Secretary and Managing Director for Tibet House, who gave us some more insight into the Tibetan Culture and how the Tibet House helps to educate people about this culture. Nena explained that there was a need to have a cultural organization (not a political one). The Tibet House is a cultural embassy, which became a museum. The Tibet House is the only organization of its kind in the U.S., although there is one located in New Dehli, India that was started by the Tibetans themselves. She briefly explained that the Tibet House focuses on Buddhist culture as a whole, not just the religious aspect of Buddhism.
We at Liberty News Online would like to thank Mr. Ganden Thurman for inviting us and referring us to those who could further assist us with our interviewing some of the people. We would also like to thank Ms. Kyra Borre, Tibet House staff member, for helping us and referring us to the interviewees who could best inform us.
Anyone who would like more information about this most distinguished organization called Tibet House and its mission, or would like to become a member, may visit their website, at www.tibethouse.org.
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The African American and Caribbean Section is headed by assistant editor Annette Johnson, and Liberty News Online Staff Writers contributing articles. It will cover articles about the African American and Caribbean communities throughout the U.S.A. For more information, feel free to email us at lncarib@hadofnyc.org. If you are interested in having us cover one of your events, feel free to notify us one week in advance, so we can add you to our master calendar, and have our Liberty News Staff come and write an article about your event. Feel free to email us at lnevents@hadofnyc.org, or telephone us at (718) 507-7616 between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm, and ask to speak to Annette or Steve