Tibet is located in the vast, mountainous plateau north of India and Nepal and west of China. Since 4,000 BCE, nomadic Tibetans had occupied this dramatic space. In the 7th century CE, King Songtsan Gampo invited Buddhism officially into Tibet. There it has developed into a unique, compassionate, intellectual religion and life philosophy led by the Dalai Lama, the reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion Avalokitesvara.

Tibet is home to the most impressive peaks of the Himalayas including Everest, Kailash, Thangla and Amdo Bayanhar mountains- upon whose snows depend the great rivers of Asia- the Bramaputra, Indus, Karnali, Ganges, Mekong, the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.

Tibet is also home to beautiful, specialized animals found nowhere else but in the high Himalayas- the massive and dependable yak, and the endangered snow leopard, bharal sheep, Himalayan black bear, and nimble chiru, hunted now to near extinction for its soft wool. Tibet’s earth is rich with deposits of uranium, gold, and copper; a significant portion of the land is forested with primordial woodlands.

After China’s occupation of Tibet in the 1950’s, Tibetans were forced to flee their country and seek refuge in many countries, including America. In spite of all of Tibet’s natural wealth, it is its people who, by far, are its greatest resource. Many now have arrived on the east coast to participate in the civic life of the great metropolis of greater New York with Tibetan wisdom and compassion, entrepreneurial spirit, and culture in the form of unique visual and musical arts, cuisine, and business acumen.

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