His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking to students from the USA and Israel at his residence in Dharamsala, HP, India on January 28, 2019.

28 gennaio 2019. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, India – Questa mattina Sua Santità il Dalai Lama ha incontrato un gruppo di 51 studenti e 6 membri dello staff di Kivunim, il dipartimento dell’Hebrew College che offre un programma accademico della durata di un anno per i diplomati delle scuole superiori nordamericane con sede a Gerusalemme. Sua Santità ha accolto i suoi ospiti a Dharamsala, in quella che è stata la sua casa negli ultimi sessant’anni. “Tutti noi sette miliardi di esseri umani siamo mentalmente, emotivamente e fisicamente uguali” ha detto il Dalai Lama. “Potete essere musulmani, ebrei, cristiani o appartenenti a qualsiasi altra fede, non c’è alcuna differenza nel modo in cui siamo nati o nel modo in cui moriamo. Iniziamo la nostra vita accuditi dall’affetto di nostra madre; senza non saremmo sopravvissuti”.

“Gli scienziati hanno le prove che la natura umana è essenzialmente compassionevole. Hanno anche scoperto che il contrario della compassione – la rabbia e l’odio – indeboliscono il nostro sistema immunitario. Pertanto, proprio come si insegna l’igiene fisica per preservare la salute fisica, affinché le persone imparino a mantenere una mente felice e pacifica, hanno bisogno di imparare l’igiene emotiva: come affrontare le loro emozioni distruttive”. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing students and staff members of Kivunim, a gap year program for North American High School graduates based in Jerusalem at his residence in Dharamsala, HP, India on January 28, 2019. Photo by Tenzin Choejor

January 28, 2019. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – This morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama met with a group of 51 students and 6 staff members of Kivunim. This department of Hebrew College offers an academic gap year program for North American High School graduates based in Jerusalem with field trip visits to 11 other countries. His Holiness welcomed them to Dharamsala, his home for the last sixty years.

“All of us seven billion human beings are mentally, emotionally and physically same,” he told them. “Whether you are a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian or belong to any other faith, there is no difference in the way we are born or the way we die. We begin our lives basking in our mother’s affection, without which we would not have survived.

“Scientists have evidence that basic human nature is compassionate. They have also found that the opposite, constant anger and hatred, weaken our immune systems. Therefore, just as we teach physical hygiene to preserve our physical health, in order for people to learn how to maintain a happy, peaceful mind, they need to learn emotional hygiene—how to tackle their destructive emotions.” Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking to a group of Indian scholars at his residence in Dharamsala, HP, India on January 24, 2019. Photo by Ven Tenzin Jamphel

January 24, 2019. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – This morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama met with a group of 22 Indian scholars participating in a three-day Conference on Tibetan Studies organized by the Tibet Policy Institute of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). His Holiness explained to them how the authentic traditions of Nalanda University were introduced to Tibet.

“While the precious knowledge that is the core of this tradition may have been forgotten in India, through rigorous study and practice we have kept it alive in Tibet for more than a thousand years. The Nalanda tradition is not just a matter of religious teaching. Within its philosophy and advanced psychology are effective means for dealing with our destructive emotions.  It is a tradition deeply rooted in reason and logic. Following the Buddha’s advice to his followers to investigate what he had taught, great Nalanda masters like Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti examined his teachings in the light of reason and concluded that some were subject to interpretation and could not be taken literally.” Read the rest of this entry »

Scientists prepare tethered balloons for observations of moisture flow in the air at Everest’s north base camp in May 2018.Credit: Yingsi Li

Collapsing glaciers threaten Asia’s water supplies

Tracking moisture, snow and meltwater across the ‘third pole’ will help communities to plan for climate change, argue Jing Gao and colleagues.

Nature.com, 02 JANUARY 2019

The ‘third pole’ is the planet’s largest reservoir of ice and snow after the Arctic and Antarctic. It encompasses the Himalaya–Hindu Kush mountain ranges and the Tibetan Plateau. The region hosts the world’s 14 highest mountains and about 100,000 square kilometres of glaciers (an area the size of Iceland). Meltwater feeds ten great rivers, including the Indus, Brahmaputra, Ganges, Yellow and Yangtze, on which almost one-fifth of the world’s population depends1.

Climate change threatens this vast frozen reservoir (see ‘Third pole warming’). For the past 50 years, glaciers in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau have been shrinking. Those in the Tian Shan mountains to the north have lost one-quarter of their mass, and might lose as much as half by mid-century. Read the rest of this entry »

Non solo colesterolo: ecco come stress e depressione danneggiano il cuore. Stress and Inflammation in Coronary Artery Disease: A Review Psychoneuroendocrineimmunology-Based

Una ricerca italiana osserva l’interazione tra patologie cardiache e sistema nervoso, immunitario ed endocrino. E fotografa come le malattie del vivere causano le cardiopatie

È sufficiente controllare il colesterolo per prevenire patologie cardiache? Forse no. Una ricerca italiana da poco apparsa su Frontiers in immunology, una delle più importanti rivista internazionali del settore, conferma l’interazione tra patologie cardiache e il sistema nervoso, immunitario ed endocrino e la relazione tra patologie cardiache, stress e depressione. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama waving to the crowd as he leaves the stage at the conclusion of the Long Life Ceremony at the Kalachakra Ground in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India on December 31, 2018. Photo by Lobsang Tsering

December 31, 2018, Bodhgaya, Bihar, India – The concluding event of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Bodhgaya was an elaborate Long-life Ceremony offered to him this morning. There were three major sponsors—the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Namgyal Monastery and the Shelkar Ngashap. Escorting him from the monastery to the Kalachakra Ground were the Sikyong, Dr Lobsang Sangyé, leader of the CTA, Ven Tenzin Thapkay, Vajra Master of Gaden Phelgyeling, on behalf of Namgyal Monastery, and Ven Chusang Rinpoché, representing the Shelkar Ngashap. Namgyal monks preceded them playing ‘gyaling’—Indian horns—and swinging censers, while another followed His Holiness carrying a bright yellow ornamental umbrella. Leading the ceremony, seated directly in front of and facing His Holiness’s throne, were the Ganden Tri Rinpoché, Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin, Ven Thamthog Rinpoché, Abbot of Namgyal Monastery and the Sikyong. To the side, and behind the six Abbots of Ganden, Drepung and Sera Monasteries, the Lama Umzé and musicians of Namgyal Monastery led the chanting. Tri Rinpoché began the ceremony by offering His Holiness a mandala and representations of the body, speech and mind of enlightenment. His Holiness addressed the crowd: “On this occasion the oracles of Tibetan protectors like Nechung and Nyenchen Thangla will take part in trance. We, people and deities, all have a responsibility to work for the cause of Tibet. Read the rest of this entry »