Tibetan Association of Washington
Annual Benefit Dinner
Join us on November 9 for our Annual Fund-Raising Event to support our community. Proceeds goes towards our community's effort to have a physical site for our children to come together and learn and preserve their cultural identity providing them a great foundation to thriving in the world.
Pledge Request for Seattle Tibetan Community Center
There is no doubt that having a community center that we can call our own is important. It is a high priority for the TAW board of directors to make a concerted effort to make it a reality, specially with the State budget bill that has passed. The budget bill's amount will not fully cover our goal for a property. Today we are releasing the ask for your pledges to expedite. Seattle remains one of the very few (if not the only) Tibetans without a community center.
We ask that you watch the few videos that we have created that talks about the importance of having a place that we call our own; the TAW president, Namgyal Namglo, explains the reasoning behind the pledge collection.
Videos created and edited by Kherap Palden la. We thank him for volunteering his time and expertise.
Please take the pledge here.
For the broader public (not part of the Seattle Tibetan Community) who wants to donate to this effort, we will appreciate your generosity. Please donate for Norling Project via Paypal or by check.
Most of the Board of Directors along with the Housing committee members have already taken the pledge. We want to thank Thupten Jampa la for being the first community member to take the pledge!
MAY 3RD – FIRST LAKAR OF THE YEAR
On May 3rd, we celebrated our first Lhakar of the year with an array of exciting activities. We kicked off the event with a prayer session. Following that, we enjoyed a captivating culture show, where participants showcased our traditional Tibetan dance. The event also included a potluck, where everyone brought and shared delicious Tibetan-influenced food. Additionally, the kids had a great time sketching and expressing their creativity. Finally, chief guest Tashi Namgyal la shared us importance of Lharka. Overall, the first Lhakar of the year was a memorable experience that celebrated our culture and brought us closer together.
APR 26TH – RALLY AGAINST THE SEATTLE TIMES
The recent media frenzy involving our religious and spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has caused immense distress to our community. The Seattle Times' hasty publication of a misleading Associated Press(AP) article on April 10th, 2023 regarding the incident is detrimental to His Holiness's reputation and an incredibly disrespectful act toward our community. We rallied against The Seattle Times' spread of misinformation and urge them to respect cultural diversity.
APL 25TH – PANCHEN RINPOCHE'S 34TH BIRTHDAY
April 25th marks the 34th birthday of Panchen Rinpoche Gedhun Choeky Nyima (Panchen Lama). The Panchen Lama is a prominent figure in Tibetan Buddhism, second to the Dalai Lama in importance. However, the global awareness of the Panchen Lama is relatively low. In 1995, the Dalai Lama recognized a six-year-old boy named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama, shortly after his recognition, the Chinese government abducted him and his family and he has not been seen or heard from since. The Chinese government then installed its own Panchen Lama, which is not recognized by the majority of Tibetan Buddhists. In an effort to raise global awareness of the Panchen Lama's plight and to advocate for his release and the restoration of the rightful Panchen Lama, please join us on his birthday.
APL 22ND – EARTH DAY
On Earth Day, Tibetan Language and Culture School (TLCS) students and parents came together to help clear non-native, invasive plants from Veterans Memorial Park in Mountlake Terrace. The project was aimed at improving the health of the park's ecosystem, which had been negatively impacted by the presence of invasive species. The project was a success, and the park's ecosystem is now healthier thanks to the efforts of the TLCS students and parents.
APL 20TH – PRAYER FOR HH THE DALAI LAMA
Here are some pictures of the urgent Lhakar(Yesterday) prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama's long life organized by Cholsum Bhumo.
APL 12TH – TENZIN TSUNDUE'S TALK
Our president Gonpo extended a welcome to the Tibetan writer and activist
Tenzin Tsundue. Tsundue is known for his activism and writing on issues related to Tibet and the plight of Tibetan people. We recognized the significance of his visit and express our gratitude for the opportunity to host him. His visit to Seattle is an opportunity for us to connect and learn more about the current situation in Tibet. With that said, We have two events coming up. The posters are attached below. Please share the events and join us.
APL 10TH – TLCS SUNDAY SCHOOL
Our Tibetan Language and Culture School – TLCS activities are packed with exciting and enriching programs aimed to teach our children the language, culture, music, and dance of Tibet. Last Sunday from 3-6pm, we started with a prayer and meditation session led by Gen Tashi Tsering, which helps our students to focus. Following that, we had a special segment celebrating the Tibetan language, led by Gen Passang Bhuti, who helped our students appreciate the beauty and richness of their native tongue. Our Level III students also had a group song practice session with Gen Lharik Dhakpa, where they honed their musical skills and practice singing together as a group. And for those who were interested in exploring their creative side, we had a Tibetan art & painting session led by Lama Migmar.
APL 1ST – MOVIE SCREENING
Shenpenn Singyetsang's movie screening tour kicked off in Seattle. We watched his latest movie “Broken Wings” followed by a public talk on the importance of creativity in the Tibetan diaspora by the director at Sakya Gonpa
.
MAR 28TH – TLCS SUNDAY SCHOOL
Last Sunday at Tibetan Language and Culture School, kids are taught the history of Tibetan names and their origin, as well as calligraphy. They learn about the different origins of Tibetan names and how they were formed. They also learn the basics of calligraphy, a style of writing that is used to create beautiful, intricate designs. Through learning about the history of Tibetan names and calligraphy, kids gain an appreciation for the culture and language of Tibet. They are also able to gain a deeper understanding of the language, which can help them communicate more effectively with their peers.
MAR 27TH – TIBET LOBBY DAY
Three of our local members are participating in Tibet Lobby Day in Washington, DC. on March 27-28, 2023. Thank you for taking your time and representing us. We wish you all a successful lobbying with our state senators and representatives.
MAR 15TH – COMMUNITY DRIVE FOR REFUGEES NW
Tibetan Language and Culture School – TLCS, led by Rehwa Nyatsatsang, conducted a community drive for Refugees NW at our Losar party, they received $531 in monetary donations and many hygiene donations. Refugees NW was very appreciative of donations from our Tibetan community.
Thank you, everyone, for supporting this project of TLCS. Take a look at the photos of Rehwa dropping off stuff at Refugees NW in Sea-Tac.
MAR 8TH – UTSAV EVENT
Participants from the Tibetan community in UTSAV organized events with lawmakers of Washington state in the state capitol. With Steve Hobbs – Secretary of State, My-Linh Thai, State Senator Manka Dhingra, and Nepali representatives.
MAR 7TH – TAW BOARD & TLCS PARENT MEETING
We had a successful first TLCS meeting with parents, staff, and TAW board members last Sunday. We have some great news coming up soon to share with you all, so stay tuned on our TAW social media and check your email for more details and meeting updates.
Families with children are highly encouraged to send their kids to the TLCS/ Sunday school. All the community members are welcome to participate in any way possible.
You can volunteer for an hour or two or more for the success of our TLCS and our own community at large.
MAR 2ND – HAPPY LOSAR
The Year of the Water Rabbit 2150 has begun and on behalf of the board, I wish you all a successful and happy Losar.
Wrapping up our Losar celebrations from over the weekend, we wanted to share a few highlights. We were grateful and honored to have Mayor Matusomoto-Wright of Mountlake Terrace (4th from left), Mayor Keith Scully of Shoreline (4th from right), and Heidi Jackson, Manager of Cultural Programs at Seattle Center (center) attend our Losar dinner event. We were able to share our annual report, and our budget for 2023 and provide an update on our Seattle Tibetan Community Center Building Project and also held elections for our 2024-2026 board.
Without your support, we can’t achieve the goals of our organization and thrive.
The demographic survey is among the priority initiatives of the 16th Kashag, a key endeavour to get a hold of number of Tibetans in the diaspora, the collected data of which will be used as a standard measure for the implementation of political, administration, socio-economic and welfare schemes and most importantly, the same data will be adopted in the administration’s endeavour towards e-governance. – Tibet.net Please download survey form
It was the first-ever Lhakar event organized by TAW at Cromwell Park. Lhakar is about eating Tibetan food, wearing Tibetan clothing, speaking the Tibetan language, and celebrating the Tibetan identity. We did just that. Share your Lhakar
We commemorated Panchen rinpoche’s 33rd birthday at Green Lake Park. We kicked off the event with a peach march around the lake. After that, we started the program with the Tibetan national anthem, a dedicated song, and prayer for the Panchen rinpoche. In the end, we wrapped up the event with a candlelight vigil and a birthday cake cut. Learn more and take action:
March 10th, 2022 marked the 63rd Tibetan uprising day against China’s invasion. We started the rally at Westlake Park and covered a few important places including Downtown Seattle areas, Pike place market, and the Chinatown-international district. Learn more and take action:
Tashi Delek, We’re glad you’re here. For the latest information on our activities and events please visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/washingtontibet Since our community is heavily engaged on Social media we have transitioned most of our quickly evolving content to our Facebook and Instagram pages. Thuk Ji Che!