ITHACA, NY—In preparation for the visit to the local community by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, an ad hoc committee of faculty has joined with the Office of the Chaplains to schedule four educational events. All of the activities are free and open to the public.

 

Using Roger Kamenetz’s 1994 book “The Jew in the Lotus: A Poet’s Re-Discovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India,” Jewish chaplain Michael Faber will discuss the interface between Jews and Buddhists, Buddhism and Judaism. Kamenetz had been among a group invited to Dharamsala by the Dalai Lama to discuss how the Jewish experience of spiritual survival in exile might be helpful to Tibetans.

 

A screening of the documentary film “Compassion in Exile: The Story of the 14th Dalai Lama,” introduced by assistant professor of philosophy and religion Brian Karafin. A discussion of the film will follow.

 

Selections from Pierre Delattre’s “Tales of a Dalai Lama,” a book of short fiction stories, read by Jewish Chaplain Michael Faber.

 

A look at several key healing deities, led by associate professor of television-radio Mara Alper, assisted by poet Mary Gilliland and massage therapist Bernadette Fiocca.

 

The Dalai Lama will present “Eight Verses on Training the Mind” at Ithaca College’s Ben Light Gymnasium on Wednesday, October 10. All tickets for his 2:00 p.m. presentation have sold out. However, it will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable channel 16 in the Ithaca area, and will available for viewing live on the Internet at http://www.ithaca.edu/bridgingworlds/. Free viewing locations on the Ithaca College campus will be set up in the Emerson Suites, Phillips Hall; and Ford Hall, James J. Whalen Center for Music.

 

The Dalai Lama’s October 9–10 visit to the area is taking place under the auspices of Ithaca’s Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies, which is the North American seat of his personal monastery. Titled “Bridging Worlds,” his series of speaking engagements is intended to represent different groups in Ithaca working together.

 

In addition to his Ithaca College talk, the Dalai Lama will give a lecture titled “A Human Approach to World Peace” at Cornell University and conduct an interfaith dialogue on “Prayers for World Peace” at the State Theatre.