October 18, 2018 | CHÖGYAL NAMKHAI NORBU – 1938-2018 Namkhai Norbu during the 1988 Zhang-Zhung Expedition. Namkhai Norbu Rimpoché passed away last month (Sept. 27th). I want to jot down some memories I have of him and discuss his pivotal contribution to our understanding of ancient Tibetan history. I had no spiritual relationship with him, so I will skip …

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The dentist and the refugees

October 16, 2018

by Tashi Tsering Josayma Tashi Tsering, director of Amnye Machen Institute, sent me this piece (and photographs) as a response to my last post on Tsewang Norbu la. I thought Tashi la’s comment so interesting and illuminating about a period in early Tibetan exile-life that I thought it would be a pity to tuck it …

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The First “Seed of a Future Tibet”

August 26, 2018

TSEWANG NORBU “TAK-GO”: IN MEMORIUM (1949-2018) Photo: Tibet Initiative I first met Tsewang Norbu-la at the Frankfurt Book Fair (the world’s largest trade fair for books) in the year 1999 (I think it was) where Tibet Forum had rented a stand to publicize recent publications on Tibet which included Tsering Shakya’s Dragon in the Land …

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My Personal Audience with His Holiness

May 30, 2018

All the delegates at the 5th International Rangzen Conference received a group audience and a photo opportunity with the Dalai Lama on the last day of the conference. It was a large group and I was kneeling close by his feet (he was standing) so most probably he didn’t see me. I understand he later …

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Centennial of a Historic Tibetan Victory over a Chinese Invasion Force

April 29, 2018

Exactly a hundred years ago, to the day – the 29th of April 1918, Tibetan government troops captured Chamdo. After a long and brutal siege the Chinese garrison finally surrendered. Following the liberation of what can be described as the capital of Eastern Tibet, the Tibetan army advanced all along the Kham front eventually freeing over half the territory …

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Tibetan Restaurant Culture: Origins and Evolution

February 14, 2018

The Russian explorer Nikolay Przhevalsky in 1878 described Lhasa as the “Rome of Asia” We know that since time immemorial, an unending stream of pilgrims, mendicant and merchants flocked to that city particularly during the period of the New Year and the Monlam festival. Early accounts even refer to Armenians, Pebouns (Newari), Casimiris (Muslims), Mongols, Chinese …

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