A book discussion and signing for the recent release of Dr. Charles E. Manson's new work, The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi: Tibetan Mahasiddha. Dr. Manson is a librarian 'over the water', looking after the Tibetan Collections at both the Bodleian and at British Library, and Dunhuang material at British Library. His new book, "The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi: Tibetan Mahasiddha" will be published in November 2022. The book is based on his original research into a figure of 13th-century 'medieval' Tibet, Karma Pakshi, who is credited with beginning the 'reincarnation lamas' tradition, an ecclesiastical succession tradition that led 400 years later to the governance of Tibet by the reincarnate Dalai Lamas for 300 years. Dr. Manson's research has been from Tibetan biographical and historical sources. Karma Pakshi travelled to preach to Mongke Khan at Karakorum and Qubilai Khan in the Xanadu area, and this book has translations of Karma Pakshi's poetry/songs from a recently available manuscript (2015).

Tenzin Choegyal is a Tibetan/Australian artist, composer, activist, musical director and cultural ambassador, widely considered one of the world's finest musicians with Tibetan heritage. While proudly continuing the unbroken nomadic lineage central to his music, Tenzin also embraces opportunities to take his music into more contemporary, uncharted territory, both in the studio and on stage. Tenzin has nine independent albums, three of them with his fusion band Tibet2Timbuk2, and regularly performs with Camerata Brisbane's acclaimed Chamber Orchestra. His collaborative albums include "The Last Dalunderai Lama" with Philip Glass" and the 2021 Grammy-nominated "Songs from the Bardo" with Laurie Anderson and Jesse Paris Smith, which is a moving interpretation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. An outstanding composer/performer with a great depth of musical knowledge, intuition and inventiveness, Tenzin continues to bring together the two worlds of Eastern and Western music in unique compositions, collaborations and special cultural events. Presented by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Tenzin Choegyal is a Tibetan/Australian artist, composer, activist, musical director and cultural ambassador, widely considered one of the world's finest musicians with Tibetan heritage. While proudly continuing the unbroken nomadic lineage central to his music, Tenzin also embraces opportunities to take his music into more contemporary, uncharted territory, both in the studio and on stage. Tenzin has nine independent albums, three of them with his fusion band Tibet2Timbuk2, and regularly performs with Camerata Brisbane's acclaimed Chamber Orchestra. His collaborative albums include "The Last Dalunderai Lama" with Philip Glass and the 2021 Grammy-nominated "Songs from the Bardo" with Laurie Anderson and Jesse Paris Smith, which is a moving interpretation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. An outstanding composer/performer with a great depth of musical knowledge, intuition and inventiveness, Tenzin continues to bring together the two worlds of Eastern and Western music in unique compositions, collaborations and special cultural events. Presented by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Tenzin Choegyal is a Tibetan/Australian artist, composer, activist, musical director and cultural ambassador, widely considered one of the world's finest musicians with Tibetan heritage. He feels a particular connection to the music of the high Himalayan plateau and, as a son of Tibetan nomads, he remains dedicated to preserving the musical traditions of his ancestors. Choegyal is a master of the lingbu (bamboo flute) and the dranyen (three-stringed lute) but is best known for his extraordinary vocal ability and performance of droklu, the nomadic music of his parents. Choegyal's original compositions are inspired by Buddhist texts and poetry, traditional nomadic songs and playful folk tunes that reflect the experiences of the Tibetan people. He also embraces opportunities to take his music into more contemporary, uncharted territory, both in the studio and on stage. Choegyal is a regular at festivals and events throughout Australia, and has performed in New Zealand, Japan, India, Germany, Bali, Bangladesh, New Caledonia, Russia and the United States. He has nine independent albums, three of them with his fusion band Tibet2Timbuk2. His collaborative albums include "The Last Dalai Lama" with Philip Glass and "Songs from the Bardo" with Laurie Anderson and Jesse Paris Smith -- a moving interpretation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which was nominated for a 2020 Grammy Award. Presented by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Kluge Fellow Uranchimeg Tsultem discusses U.S. diplomacy and Western explorers in early 20th century Mongolia. She examines the thangka presented by the 13th Dalai Lama to William Rockhill in 1908, which was gifted by Rockhill to the Library of Congress, in the context of political developments at that time and Tibet-Mongolia relations.

Sikkim was an independent kingdom in the Himalayas ruled by a hereditary line of kings (Chogyal) from the 17th century until it became a British protectorate, then an Indian protectorate in 1950. This 90-minute program will feature a photographic presentation with comments by two special speakers: Her Majesty Hope Cooke, former Queen of Sikkim, and photographer Alice Kandell.

In this talk, Frances Garrett, David B. Larson Fellowship in Health and Spirituality, considers images of dying, the afterlife and rebirth, and notions of human embodiment and personhood, in Tibetan Buddhist literature, art and medicine. She argues that the use of knowledge about dying and birth in Buddhist meditation compels us to revise our understanding of the categories of medicine and religion. Tibetan medical and religious scholars alike have developed complex theories of embryology, for example, and this research has used the history of embryological knowledge in Tibet to emphasize the importance of maintaining a historically and culturally specific understanding of medicine and religion and their interaction.