Tibet House

This article is about the Tibet House cultural centers worldwide. For the Tibetan Buddhist center in New York, see The Tibet Center. For the New York Tibetan cultural center, see Tibet House US.

Tibet House Building in Lodhi Road, New Delhi, India

Tibet Houses are an international, loosely affiliated group of nonprofit cultural preservation organizations established at the request of the Dalai Lama. They work to preserve, present, and protect Tibet's ancient traditions in philosophy, mind science, art, and culture, particularly in light of the invasion and annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China in 1950 and the subsequent Tibetan diaspora.[1][2][3]

The first Tibet House, Tibet House New Delhi was founded in New Delhi, India in 1965.[4][5][6] Tulkus Gelek Rimpoche and Dagyab Kyabgoen Rinpoche were its early directors.[7][8][9][10] H.E. Lama Doboom Tulku Rinpoche served as the Director for three decades, until 2011.[11] Geshe Lhakdor was a translator and research assistant from 1986 to 1989. The house was designed by Shiv Nath Prasad in 1970 in the Brutalist architecture style.[12][13] The current director is Geshe Dorjee Damdul.

The Tibet House in New York City

Other Tibet Houses include:

  • Tibet House Japan, founded in 1975 in Shinjuku, Tokyo.[14]
  • Tibet House US was founded in 1987 by scholar Robert Thurman, actor Richard Gere and composer Philip Glass in downtown Manhattan, New York City.[15][16][17] Menla, a retreat space located in the Catskills near Phoenicia, New York, is an offshoot of Tibet House US. The project was spearheaded by Robert Thurman and Nena Thurman.[18]
  • Casa Tibet México, founded in 1989 in Mexico City.[19][20]
  • Casa del Tibet Barcelona, founded in 1994 in Spain.[21][22]
  • Tibet House Trust, founded in 1994 in London, England.[23]
  • Tibet Haus Germany, founded by Spiritual Director Dagyab Kyabgoen Rinpoche in 2005, in Frankfurt.[24][25] and
  • Tibet House Moscow, founded in 2004 in Russia.[26]
  • Tibet House Brasil, in São Paulo, Brazil.[27][28]

There are several references to Tibet Houses in a 1964 Central Intelligence Agency "Memorandum for the Special Group", which explained "agency expenditures in support of the Tibetan program" focused on political action, propaganda, and paramilitary efforts.[29]

The Agency is supporting the establishment of Tibet Houses in New Delhi, Geneva, and New York City. The Tibet Houses are intended to serve as unofficial representation for the Dalai Lama to maintain the concept of a separate Tibetan political identity. The Tibet House in New York City will work closely with Tibetan supporters in the United Nations, particularly the Malayan, Irish, and Thai delegations.[30][31]

e. Tibet Houses in New York, Geneva, and New Delhi (1/2 year) — $ 75,000[30][31]

In 1998 the Tibetan government-in-exile stated that the CIA subsidy was "spent on setting up offices in Geneva and New York and on international lobbying," the Tibet Bureau in Geneva and the Office of Tibet in Washington D.C., formerly in New York.[32][33] Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama’s personal representative in Washington, said he did not know about the CIA's $180,000-a-year subsidy or where the money went.[29]

  1. ^ Wu, Jin; Myers, Lee (18 July 2020). "Battle in the Himalayas". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. ^ Durdin, Peggy (25 January 1970). "The Dalai Lama's Tibet Lives On in Its Art". New York Times. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  3. ^ Wong, Edward (28 November 2015). "Tibetans Fight to Salvage Fading Culture in China". New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Tibet House Delhi". tibethouse.in. Tibet House Delhi.
  5. ^ Avedon, John F. (26 February 1984). "Tibet's "Exile Generation"". New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  6. ^ "The Tibet House in New Delhi". delhicapital.com. Delhi Capital. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  7. ^ "About". tibethouse.in. Tibet House Delhi. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  8. ^ Chodon, Thinley (12 July 2018). "A Tibetan treasure trove in Delhi". Outlook Traveller. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  9. ^ Magill, Mark (1 June 2017). "Remembering Gelek Rimpoche". No. Summer 2017. Tricycle. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Tibet House Museum". museumsofindia.org. Museums of India, Sahapedia. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Prayer Meet for H.E. Doboom Tulku Rinpoche – Tibet House". February 2024.
  12. ^ "An Ode to Shivnath Prasad: The le Corbusier of India". Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  13. ^ Zaki, Momin. "Architect Shivnath Prasad-His contribution to Modern Indian Architectture". Archived from the original on 16 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  14. ^ "About". tibethouse.jp. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Robert Thurman Buddhist scholar". ted.com. TED Conferences. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  16. ^ Anonymous report (28 September 1987). "Richard Gere And Dalai Lama Announce Center for Tibetan Culture". AP News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  17. ^ Walters, John (18 February 2016). "Philip Glass Menagerie: The Composer on 26 Years of the Tibet House Benefit Concert". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  18. ^ Green, Penelope (20 May 2017). "50 Years of Marriage and Mindfulness With Nena and Robert Thurman". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  19. ^ "About". casatibet.org.mx/. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  20. ^ "His Holiness the Dalai Lama Inaugurates Casa Tibet Mexico". No. Autumn. Snow Lion. 1 October 1989. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  21. ^ "History". casadeltibetbcn.org. Casa Del Tibet. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  22. ^ "The Dalai Lama Inaugurates New Tibet House Foundation in Barcelona". Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 8 October 2007. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  23. ^ "About Us". .tibet-house-trust.co.uk/. Tibet House Trust. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  24. ^ "About Us". tibethaus.com. Tibethaus Germany. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Germany's new Tibet House showcase modern Tibetan art". Phayul. 3 June 2006. Retrieved 26 September 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  26. ^ "Tibet House Russia". tibethouse.ru. Tibet House Russia. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Tibet House Brasil". tibethouse.org.br/. Tibet House Brasil. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Tibet House Brazil Inaugurates New Tibetan Thangka Exhibition". Central Tibetan Administration. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  29. ^ a b Mann, Jim (15 September 1998). "CIA Gave Aid to Tibetan Exiles in '60s, Files Show". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  30. ^ a b "Review of Tibetan Operations" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 9 January 1964. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2021.
  31. ^ a b "337. Memorandum for the Special Group". Office of the Historian. 9 January 1964.
  32. ^ "The Shadow Circus: The CIA in Tibet". International Campaign for Tibet. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  33. ^ "World News Briefs; Dalai Lama Group Says It Got Money From C.I.A." New York Times. The Associated Press. 2 October 1998. Retrieved 12 October 2024.