FAQ
What is The Tibet Center?
The Tibet Center is a Buddhist meditation and study center open to all regardless of religious affiliation. The center, located in New York City, offers a variety of programs to suit everyone from the merely curious to the more enthusiastic.
What programs does The Tibet Center offer?
There are classes in Buddhist philosophy and practice, beginner's meditation class and regular group practice, as well as guest lectures and seminars. We also invite speakers from other religious traditions and scientific disciplines to share their insights.
Are there resident teachers at The Tibet Center?
There are two: Reverend Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, an incarnate Lama of the Gelugpa Order of Tibetan Buddhism, the founder of the center; and, Khen Rinpoche Nicholas Vreeland, Abbot of Rato Monastery in South India, the center's director. (See their biographies on the 'Our Teachers' page for more information).
Do I have to be a Buddhist to study at the center?
That is not necessary. You may use the insights and techniques of Buddhism to enhance your own religious practice. For example, you can apply the techniques presented by the Buddha to develop and enhance compassion and loving kindness, qualities which are universal to all religions.
What is it that Buddha taught?
Very briefly; Buddha taught that all beings have basic dissatisfaction and suffering to some degree or another. This need not be our permanent situation. Buddha discovered that suffering has a cause and since it has a cause it can be eliminated by removing its cause, resulting in a permanent non suffering state. All of his teachings are methods and advice for the removal of suffering and the attainment of an enlightened happy existence.
How does one practice and study at the center?
One begins by reading, critically examining, and reflecting on Buddha’s teachings. The teachings should be viewed as advice and instruction for meditation. One practices according to what one studies. Each person naturally proceeds according to their individual ability. There are a variety of books suggested for both beginners and more advanced students on our reading list.
A Brief Suggested Reading List
Basic Classics
Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lam Rim Chenmo, 3 vols.)
By Tsongkhapa
A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (Bodhicaryavatara)
By Shantideva
The Precious Garland
By Nagarjuna
Mind Training Like the Rays of the Sun
By Nam Kha Pel
Introductory
By His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
- Kindness, Clarity and Insight
- Ethics for the New Millennium
- Lighting the Way
- Open Heart (ed. by Ven. Nicholas Vreeland)
- A Profound Mind (ed. by Ven. Nicholas Vreeland)
My Life and Lives
By Rato Khyongla Rinpoche
Buddhism and Science
Balancing the Mind
By B. Alan Wallace
Gentle Bridges
Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mind Science
Ed. Jeremy Hayward, Francisco Varela
Destructive Emotions
By Daniel Goleman