ཤིང་སྦྲུལ་ལོའི་གནམ་ལོ་གསར་ཚེས་ལ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས་ཞུ། Happy Year of the Wood Snake.

February 28, 2025, marks the start of the Wood Snake year (2152) in the Tibetan calendar and across many Himalayan and Mongolian communities. We wish you all Happy Losar 2152.

We extend our invitation to you to the Losar Event on March 5, 2025 at the 1st floor of Gugg. Please join us for an evening featuring Tibetan momos and snacks, along with a variety of cultural activities. This event is free and open to the public, so feel free to bring your friends and family! We look forward to seeing you at this special occasion.

This event is sponsored by the Department of Geography, Anthropology, and the Tibet Himalaya Initiative.

About Losar:  

Losar (ལོ་གསར་ or “new year”) is the most important celebration in the Tibetan calendar, which consists of twelve lunar months. It is celebrated across the Tibetan Plateau, as well as in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, India, Bhutan, and among Mongolian communities. The celebration takes different forms depending on the location.

During the fifteen-day celebration, Tibetan families reunite to engage in various activities that symbolize purification and welcome the arrival of the new year. This includes cleaning one’s home from top to bottom, having new clothes made for the family to wear during the festival, and preparing food offerings made of butter or tsampa (roasted flour) to place on the family altar.

Tibetan Buddhists visit their local monasteries, where religious ceremonies featuring songs, readings of sacred texts, dances, and music are organized. Many offerings are made, prayer flags are hung, blessings are exchanged, and butter lamps are lit.

Losar is also an opportunity to enjoy delicious Tibetan dishes such as dresil (sweet rice), khapsey (Tibetan cookies), and guthuk (noodle soup). Various types of meat, bread, butter tea, and other dishes are served to guests invited to celebrate the holiday. During this period, chang (rice alcohol) is also enjoyed, either for drinking or as offerings.

The description of Losar above is compiled from Smithsonian Institution website. Please find links to "" and "" on the same website. 

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Join us for an event with Zhao Zhong, the Director of Green Camel Bell, on Nature Conservation and Public Participation in the Tibetan Plateau. He will share his work titled "Nature Conservation and Public Participation: Practices of a Grassroots Environmental NGO on the Tibetan Plateau." This event is open to faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students from CU and THI.

• Date: February 7, 2025
• Location: Gugg 201E
• Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Abstract: 

The grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau serve a special function in protecting the ecological function of this region at the headwaters of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. However, natural grasslands in this region are degraded to various degrees, due to human, socioeconomic, climate change, and threats from overpopulation of some species. Enhancing public participation in ecological conservation can be a feasible bottom-up solution for grassland degradation. The presentation will demonstrate how environmental NGOs work with local herders, government, schools, and enterprises to relieve the stocking pressure on grassland and improve the ecological environment through public participation.

About Zhao Zhong:  

Zhao Zhong is the founder and director of Green Camel Bell, a grass-root environmental NGO in Northwest China. He has done work within environmental education, water pollution monitoring, and community-based eco-agriculture and sustainable development and investment. He was a Yale World Fellow in 2022. From 2015-16, as a Hubert H. Humphrey fellow, Zhong completed a year of course work and professional affiliation at the University of California, Davis on Natural Resources Management and Climate Change. 

For more information about Zhao Zhong, please visit his profile at and his work through the .

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Date: December 5, 2024
Time: 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM
Location: Gugg 201E

Join us for an event featuring Nepalese scholar Nabraj Lama, who will share his research titled "Indigenous Affairs of Nepal through a Political and Economic Lens." This event is open to faculty, graduate and undergraduate students from CU and THI.

About Nabraj Lama

Nabraj Lama is currently a faculty and research scholar at Lumbini Buddhist University. He is an accomplished research scholar specializing in Himalayan Studies, International Political Economy, Indigenous Affairs, and Sustainable Development. Holding advanced degrees in Economics and Development Studies, he has significantly contributed to academic and public discourse through various publications and op-ed articles.

His career is marked by advocacy for marginalized communities, climate action, and world peace, as well as collaborations with leading organizations and the co-founding of influential think tanks.

Nabraj Lama has extensive experience in the fields of water resources, international affairs, political economy, and indigenous nationalities. His research background includes academic and developmental projects, with collaborations involving: The World Bank Nepal, India China Institute (ICI) at The New School University, Durham University, UK, Helvetas/Swiss Inter-cooperation Nepal, Heifer International Nepal, and Central Department of Anthropology at Tribhuvan University

Having traveled to more than 55 districts of Nepal, Nabraj Lama is deeply passionate about preserving the socio-cultural aspects of indigenous nationalities, various ethnic communities, castes, and other groups.

For more information about Nabraj Lama, please visit his profile at Lumbini Buddhist University: .

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Professor Dan Hirshberg is offering the following courses in the Spring term of 2025:

• ASIA 1700: Introduction to Tibetan Civilization
• ASIA 4700: Enlightened Visionaries, Dirty Tricksters, and Warrior Heroes
• RLST 3550: Tibetan Buddhism

Additionally, a second semester of Tibetan is being offered through the Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Nepal. Please email Professor Daniel A. Hirshberg for more details.

For more information, you can visit his webpage: Dan Hirshberg | Center for Asian Studies.

Brief Bio of Professor Dan Hirshberg: 

Dan Hirshberg, Ph.D. is a Visiting Scholar for the Tibet Himalaya Initiative and Lecturer for the Center for Asian Studies and the Religious Studies Department. Much of his research centers on cultural memory, the narrative of Tibet’s 8th ce. conversion to Buddhism, and the apotheosis of its protagonist, Padmasambhava, in both literature and iconography. The former is the focus of his monograph, Remembering the Lotus-Born (Wisdom SITB, 2016). He has repeatedly collaborated on the latter with the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art in NYC. Dan has held year-long fellowships at UC Santa Barbara, LMU Munich, and UVa’s Contemplative Sciences Center. Before returning to 91������, he was associate professor of Asian religions at the University of Mary Washington, where he founded one of the first Contemplative Studies programs for undergrads, established a Japanese-style garden, and led study abroad programs to Nepal and Japan. He also serves as Editor and Chair for the Journal of the North American Japanese Garden Association.

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The Crown Institute invites you to experience the creation of a Chenrezig Mandala, a symbol of compassion, healing, and impermanence. This sacred ceremony, led by the Jangchub Choeling Nunnery based in Mundgod, South India, will unfold over several days.

The Crown Institute warmly invites you to visit throughout the mandala’s creation and attend both the Opening and Closing ceremonies.

The event begins with a consecration ritual led by Buddhist nuns, invoking the force of goodness through the rhythmic chanting of mantras, accompanied by drums and cymbals. The first steps of the mandala’s creation will commence with the intricate drawing of the design.

Once the Chenrezig Mandala is completed, the Venerables will consecrate and to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists, the Sacred Sand Mandala is swept up. Attendees will be welcome to take a small packet of the sacred sand as a keepsake, while the remaining sand will be poured into 91������ Creek to release its healing energy into the world.

Throughout the week, you will have the unique opportunity to watch millions of colored sand grains meticulously laid in place, gradually bringing the mandala’s breathtaking beauty to life.

You are welcome to stop by and observe anytime during drop-in hours. For classes or groups who wish to visit, please contact Shubham Sapkota via shubham.sapkota@colorado.edu to make arrangements.

Location: Renée Crown Wellness Institute,  1135 Broadway 91������, CO 80302

For more information about the event, visit the Crown Institute website. 

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The Tibet Himalaya Initiative invites you to a film screening event featuring Tibetan filmmaker Tenzin Sedon. In collaboration with the Dairy Arts Center, we will screen her documentary film A Road of Prayer (98 minutes) on February 21, 2025, at 5:30 PM, followed by a Q&A session with the filmmaker.

About the Filmmaker:

Tenzin Sedon is a documentary filmmaker based in Lhasa. In August 2023, she arrived in New York City to begin the MFA program in Graduate Film Production at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

Her films include A Taste of Life (2014), A Road of Prayer (2014–2016), and Taikui Alley (2017–2019). These films have received numerous awards, including the Hot Docs Best Canadian Short Documentary, recognition in the News and Short Feature category of the RTS Students Television Awards, and the Golden Mountain Award for Best Documentary Short Film at Zhenjiang. Her documentary A Road of Prayer was nominated for the Hot Docs Crosscurrents Doc Fund, the CCDF, and Docs Port Incheon. Another film, Echo (2019–present), has been nominated for Fresh Pitch and is currently in the post-production stage.

About the Film:

A Road of Prayer (2014–2016) is a 98-minute documentary that chronicles the filmmaker Tenzin Sedon’s return to her hometown of Lhasa, Tibet, after a long absence. Through her camera, she sought to connect with her homeland and the people—both familiar and unfamiliar—to her. In the film, three narratives intertwine through place, time, and urban change. By capturing the lives of ordinary people on the prayer road (Kora), she embarked on a journey to reconnect with her hometown.

Event Details:

• Date: February 21, 2025, at 5:30 PM
• Location: Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., 91������, CO 80302
• Cost: This event is open to the public. You can purchase the ticket through the . A special discount code will be available for students who are attending for extra credit for a class. 

This event is sponsored by the Tibet Himalaya Initiative with support from the Dairy Arts Center. For more information, please contact tibethimalaya@colorado.edu

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Date: Sunday, October 27 at 6 pm

Location: The Trident Cafe, Pearl Street, 91������

The Tibet Himalaya Initiative invites you to a special evening with poet, writer, and publisher Bhuchung D. Sonam. He will be reading from his new book The Other Side of Blue Skies and join CU Professor Carole McGranahan in a conversation about writing as resistance in the Tibetan exile community.

About the Poet: 

Bhuchung D. Sonam is an exile Tibetan poet, writer, translator and publisher. His books include Songs from Dewachen and Yak Horns: Notes on Contemporary Tibetan Writing, Music and Film & Politics. He has edited Muses in Exile: An Anthology of Tibetan Poetry, and has compiled and translated Burning the Sun’s Braids: New Poetry from Tibet. He is a founding member and editor of TibetWrites and its imprint Blackneck Books, which promotes and publishes the creative works of Tibetans. His writings are published in the Washington Post, Asahi Weekly, Journal of Indian Literature, HIMAL Southasian and Hindustan Times among others. He was recently the subject of a New York Times article – “”

About the Event: 

This event is free and open to the public. For information about the event, please contact Professor Carole McGranahan carole.mcgranahan@colorado.edu

This event is sponsored and hosted by the Tibet Himalaya Initiative in conjunction with the Trident Bookstore and Cafe, and with thanks to our co-sponsors the CU Center for Asian Studies and Department of Anthropology.

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A panel discussion on Indigenous climate futures with filmmaker Subash Thebe Limbu, Phurwa Gurung (CU Geography), Clint Carroll (CU Ethnic Studies), Jennifer Fluri (CU Geography), and Shae Frydenlund (CU Center for Asian Studies), will take place on Zoom on Monday, October 14th at 9:30am. The Q&A session will follow the panel discussion.

Event: Ningwasum Film and Indigenous Climate Futurism

Date: Oct 14, 2024, at 9:30am on Zoom

Zoom link for Panel Discussion:

https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/ 4474063892

If you are interested in watching the film Ningwasum, please email shae.frydenlund@colorado.edu

About the Film

Directed by Subash Thebe Limbu, Ningwasum follows two time travellers – Miksam and Mingsoma – to a futuristic Himalayas where indigenous sovereignty and technology meet a new climate reality. The film weaves together Yakthung folk tales, music, and language to foreground indigenous perspectives and challenge typical portrayals of indigenous backwardness.

This event is sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies, and the Tibet Himalaya Initiatives.

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The Dalai Lama's Future Succession: Understanding the 14th Dalai Lama and His Formidable Contributions
Dr. Dawa Lokyitsang
Friday, September 13 at 4 pm

Hale 230 | Reception to follow

All are invited to join us on Friday, September 13 for a keynote lecture by Dr. Dawa Lokyitsang on "The Dalai Lama's Future Succession: Understanding the 14th Dalai Lama and His Formidable Contributions." Scholars Tenzin Dorjee (Columbia University), Cameron Warner (Aarhus University), and Nicole Willock (Old Dominion University) will be the respondents for the lecture. Free and open to the public, plus livestreamed at: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/93464212808

Talk abstract:

At a recent tenshug, a long-life ritual and prayer ceremony offered by the Tibetan, Mongolian, and Himalayan communities to the 14th Dalai Lama in New York, the Dalai Lama affirmed once again that he would live well past the age of 100. The crowd responded with boisterous applause. Yet, everyone including the Chinese government, Western governments and academics, former Tibetan politicians and activists have been in a rush to weigh in on his future succession. Why is this? My presentation will answer this question by contextualizing the 14th Dalai Lama’s legacy as a refugee who created foundational Tibetan institutions in exile for the thrivance of the Tibetan refugee community and their cause for freedom. In addition, given the Dalai Lama’s status as a formidable leader with immense global influence, he is capable of shaping and challenging the People’s Republic of China’s international relations and its legitimacy in Tibet. Understanding how and why international debates about the Dalai Lama’s succession have evolved requires a detailed consideration of his leadership accomplishments in exile.

Sponsored by the University of Colorado Department of Anthropology, Center for Asian Studies, and Tibet Himalaya Initiative together with the School of Culture and Society at Aarhus University. Co-sponsored by JLF Colorado.This is part of the Leadership and Reincarnation of the Dalai Lamas Project (LEAD): A Research Network on Succession, Innovation, and Community.

For further information, contact Professor Carole McGranahan at carole.mcgranahan@colorado.edu

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The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) comes to town this weekend, September 21–23, 2023. There are two Tibet-related panels we would like to invite you to attend. Register here: 

The Tibet Himalaya Initiative (THI) is sponsoring the session with Tsering Yangzom Lama, whose debut novel We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies has received much critical acclaim, in conversation with CU’s own Dawa Lokyitsang and Natalie Avalos.

And THI faculty Holly Gayley will be in conversation with Andrew Quintman about the lives of Yeshe Tsogyal and Milarepa and their ongoing influence and presence in ritual, pilgrimage, visual arts and more. 

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