Whether or not you practice Buddhism, there’s plenty of useful knowledge to come from the religion, especially when speaking to someone who has been appointed by the Dalai Lama himself.
The Tzu Chi Center invites you to learn more about Buddhism on Friday, Jan. 15 with Nicholas Vreeland, the Abbot of Rato Dratsang and director of the Tibet Center, the oldest Tibetan Buddhist Center in New York City.
The event is part of the Tzu Chi Center’s C.A.F.E. 229 series which features talks on contemplative living, or Transforming Distress into Compassion: Mindful Living in Action. C.A.F.E. stands for Compassion in Action, Freedom, Enlightenment. The series is on the third Friday of every month.
“Examined from a variety of perspectives, a contemplative lifestyle will emerge as one that encompasses altruistic tendencies, mindfulness and positive transformation, and wisdom,” a Tzu Chi Center announcement said. “These themes are echoed in the words that constitute the C.A.F.E. name: Compassion in Action, Freedom, Enlightenment.”
As Abbot of Rato Dratsang, Vreeland oversees one of a few important Tibetan government monasteries under the patronage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Vreeland is also director of The Tibet Center, the oldest Tibetan Buddhist Center in New York City. He is a Buddhist monk and holds a Geshe degree, the equivalent of a Ph.D.
Born in Geneva, Switzerland to American parents, Vreeland was educated in Europe, North Africa and the United States, after which he pursued a career in photography. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Vreeland worked as an assistant to Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, and studied film at New York University.
In 1977 he met Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, founder of The Tibet Center, and became a monk in 1985.
Vreeland is the editor of the books, “An Open Heart,” a New York Times bestseller, and the 2011 release, “A Profound Mind,” both authored by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is also the founder of Photos for Rato, a series of fundraisers that have been held in France, Italy, Germany, India and the U.S., which underwrote, through the sale of his photographs, a large part of the construction of Rato Monastery in India. He is often regarded as “The Monk With a Camera.”
On April 20, 2012, the Dalai Lama appointed Vreeland to serve as the new Abbot of Rato Monastery. This was a historic moment; the first time that a Westerner had been appointed abbot of an important Tibetan Buddhist monastery. On making the appointment, the Dalai Lama said, “Your special duty (is) to bridge Tibetan tradition and Western world.”
Vreeland divides his time between The Tibet Center in New York and Rato Dratsang in India.
In the webinar, he will tell all about his fascinating journey from wealth and privilege into monkhood and exploring it further through photography.
The event on Friday begins at 4 p.m.
To RSVP, visit www.tzuchicenter.org/events/ringing-in-the-new-year-with-nicholas-vreeland.
