Tibet, Hope, and the Future

Dear Still Water Friends,

This Thursday evening after our meditation period, we will have the privilege of having a dialogue on Tibet, Hope, and the Future, with Losang Rabgey.

Losang was born in a Tibetan refugee settlement in India and emigrated as a child to Canada. As an adult she has integrated academic studies (she has a doctorate in Anthropology and Gender Studies from the University of London) with advocacy and social entrepreneurship. With her sister Tashi, she founded and now directs Machik, a non-profit organization devoted to service and engagement on the Tibetan Plateau, with a special focus on the area in Eastern Tibet from which her family came.

Machik has built and developed innovative primary and middle schools, a women’s education program, geotourism initiatives, conservation and green technology projects, and sustainable livelihood efforts based both on traditional handicrafts (such as tailoring and boot making) and modern technology (such as a Tibetan-run motorcycle repair shop).

Losang’s life and work is summed up in a quote she wrote which appeared in the Starbucks "The Way I See It" program:

My cousin in Tibet is an illiterate subsistence farmer. By accident of birth, I was raised in the West and have a Ph.D. The task of our generation is to cut through the illusion that we inhabit separate worlds. Only then will we find the heart to rise to the daunting but urgent challenges of global disparity.

You are invited to be with us for this special evening. Machik’s vision statement is below. More information about Machik is available at www.Machik.org.

The best times to join our Thursday evening gatherings are just before the beginning of our 7 p.m. meditation, just before we begin walking meditation (around 7:25), and just after our walking meditation (around 7:35).

Warm wishes,

Mitchell Ratner
Senior Teacher

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Machik Vision Statement

Machik seeks to help chart new pathways forward as communities on the Tibetan plateau approach uncertain times. By taking as our guiding principles respect for the standpoint of others and an appreciation of our responsibility toward one another and to our collective human future, we have learned that meaningful change is possible, even under challenging circumstances. In our years of working directly with local Tibetan communities, these principles have enabled us to find our way across many uncertainties.

Founded on a core commitment to the ideals of service and engagement, Machik works to develop new opportunities for education and training, as well as supporting initiatives that advance innovative and solutions-oriented approaches to the challenges of community revitalization and sustainability. By providing new resources, networks, tools and technology, our goal is to establish a portal for developing new partnerships and synergies that can help create alternative pathways toward a strong, healthy and more sustainable future on the Tibetan plateau. Through outreach efforts to Tibetans, Chinese and global citizens alike, we seek to build a shared understanding of the potential of this work for our collective human future.

In these uncertain times, the renewal of hope and spirit across political and cultural divides will require the courage to cross uncharted terrain. It will require imagination to envision new possibilities and a resolve to make the choices necessary to realize a more fair, just and peaceful world. Our work is about enabling meaningful social change, one heart at a time. We hope you will join us in this effort.

 

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