NICHOLAS VREELAND: A Monks Journal Preparing for HH Dalai Lama Visit

 Little Ones Study

Photograph (c) Nicholas Vreeland

 

 Manooj's Painting Team
Photograph (c) Nicholas Vreeland

 Tashi Milks and Cares for Our Buffalo

Photograph (c) Nicholas Vreeland

 

 

Monks Polishing

 Photograph (c) Nicholas Vreeland

Workman, Studio Portrait

Photograph (c) Nicholas Vreeland
 

Workmen

 Photograph (c) Nicholas Vreeland

 The Monks of Rato Monastery, Mundgod, Karnataka, India

 Photographer Nicholas Vreeland (2nd row, center)

"Here we prepare for a visit from His Holiness. All hands are on deck." Buddhist monk and Photographer, Nicholas Vreeland, is the Abbot of Rato Monastery, Mundgod, India. Read more about Vreeland in the Washington Post here.

Robert Delpire selected twenty black and white Fine Art photographs by Nicholas Vreeland taken over the 24 years he has been a Rato monk. Each image, signed and numbered, is part of a limited edition of 25 that are on sale to raise money to support Rato Monastery. Purchase 'Photos For Rato' online here

NICHOLAS VREELAND: A Monk's Journal Tuscany + India Enthronement

Khyongla Rato Rinpoche in Tuscany
Photograph (c) Nicholas Vreeland

In June, Khyongla Rato Rinpoche and Photographer + Buddhist Monk, Nicholas Vreeland, were visiting friends in Tuscany before heading to Milan where they attended Teachings from HH the Dalai Lama. Rinpoche then headed back to America and Vreeland proceeded to India to assume his new position as Abbott of Rato Monastery.

Early morning, Nicholas being led to the Abbot's quarters
Rato Monastery, Karnataka, India, July 2, 2012

Khen Rinpoche Nicholas Vreeland
Enthronement Ceremony, July 2, 2012
Rato Monastery, Karnataka, India

The Washington Post
Dalai Lama taps American to
Bridge East and West at Tibetan Monastery
By Kim Lawton. Published: June 26, 2012

"The Dalai Lama has given Nicholas Vreeland, Director of The Tibet Center in New York, a daunting new assignment. On July 2, Vreeland will be enthroned as the new abbot of Rato Monastery in southern India, one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism. He will be the first Westerner to hold such a position. In making the appointment, the Dalai Lama told Vreeland, “Your special duty (is) to bridge Tibetan tradition and (the) Western world.”

"For many observers, the choice of an American for the role may be a surprising one, and perhaps even more surprising given the background of this particular American. Vreeland had a privileged upbringing — the son of a U.S. diplomat and the grandson of Diana Vreeland, the legendary editor of Vogue magazine during the 1960s. When he first encountered Tibetan Buddhism in his 20s, he was working as a photographer in some of the industry’s top studios." (Read full story here)

The Leica Camera Blog
Nicholas Vreeland Capturing Photographs
to Honor and Preserve His World

"...was educated in Europe, North Africa and the United States. He later pursued a career in photography and in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s worked as an assistant to Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. Vreeland was introduced to his teacher, Khyongla Rato Rinpoche and The Tibet Center in New York by John and Elizabeth Avedon. After many years of study, he went to India to become a monk in 1985 and was awarded a Geshe Degree (Doctorate of Divinity) in 1998." (Read the full story here)

"The first solo exhibition of Vreeland’s work, Return to the Roof of the World, was held at the Leica Gallery in New York from April 22nd to June 4th of 2011. Just this July, Vreeland was appointed Abbot of Rato Dratsang by the Dalai Lama. He’s the first Westerner appointed Abbot of a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery with the task to help bridge East and West." And we wish him well! (Read the full story here)

Le Journal de la Photographie: Nicholas Vreeland

August Update: Vreeland with Rato Monastery's new vehicle.

A MONKS PHOTO JOURNAL: Preparing For HH The Dalai Lama's Visit to Mundgod

The monks of Rato Dratsang preparing for HH The Dalai Lama's visit

Rato Monastery, Mundgod, Karnataka, India

The monks of Rato Dratsang preparing for HH The Dalai Lama's visit

Preparing for HH The Dalai Lama's visit, Rato Dratsang Monastery

Preparing for HH The Dalai Lama's visit, Rato Dratsang Monastery

Rato Monastery, Mundgod, Karnataka, India

A Monk's PhotoJournalist, Nicholas Vreeland

The monks of Rato Dratsang Monastery, in Mundgod, Karnataka, India, are preparing for His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Inaugurate their Monastery January 31, 2011, followed by Teachings Febuary 1-5th. HH The Dalai Lama Schedule of teachings Here. Many of the new buildings for the Monastery were provided for from the sale of photographs by Nicholas Vreeland through the Rato Dratsang Foundation. Early in his career, Vreeland worked for both Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. An exhibition of his photographs will be shown at the Leica Gallery, New York, April 22- June 4, 2011.

All Photographs (c) Nicholas Vreeland /All Rights Reserved

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 1.1.2011

Moses and the Star Photograph (c) Aline Smithson

HAPPY NEW YEAR !
~
Wishing You All The Best In 2011

HH The Dalai Lama and Einstein Photograph (c) Clive Arrowsmith

...may 2011 be a
Prosperous + Peaceful New Year!

Must see LENSCRATCH today! 400 photographs posted - my favorites include tom chambers, julie blackmon, stephen mallon, sean perry, jessica todd harper, phillip toledano, gabriela herman, sheri lynn behr, ruben natal-san miguel, elizabeth opalenik, susan worsham, ellen jantzen, akihito yamamoto, jamie stillings, rania matar, christopher rauschenberg, gina kelly, manjari sharma, bruce barone, blake andrews, valery rizzo, mitch dobrowner, joni sternbach, liz kuball, russ martin and marcia schulman martin and more...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Peace on Earth

HRH The Prince of Wales with His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama
Photograph (c) Clive Arrowsmith/All Rights Reserved

Peace on Earth.
Best Wishes, Clive

(more HHDL by Clive Arrowsmith)

CLIVE ARROWSMITH: HH The Dalai Lama

His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama
Photograph (c) Clive Arrowsmith/All Rights Reserved

Khyongla Rato Rinpoche
Photograph (c) Clive Arrowsmith/All Rights Reserved

Layout from Clive Arrowsmith 's future book of Portraits

Photograph (c) Clive Arrowsmith/All Rights Reserved

London based photographer Clive Arrowsmith was in NYC attending The Dalai Lama's Teachings. The Tibet Center, founded by Khyongla Rato Rinpoche (in Clive's portrait above), hosted His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Teachings in NYC in partnership with Richard Gere's organization, Healing the Divide.

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Some excellent posts on Tricycle Magazine's blog describe each days Dalai Lama Talks at Radio City Music Hall this past week. Tricycle: Day 1 & 2 and Tricycle: Day 3. Also on the Tricycle blog is a not to be missed Video Interview with Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman

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Sitting in front of Jessica Hines and I at HH The Dalai Lama's Public Talk at Radio City Music Hall was American Composer Marvin Hamlisch and sitting behind us– Jon Bon Jovi!

DILIP MEHTA: Forgotten Woman Documentary

Watch The Forgotten Woman Trailer

Every widow whom I filmed and who agreed to speak on camera was forthright. There was invariably an outpouring of their souls of emotions that were scarred, of feelings that were suppressed, of hopes and dreams that remained unfulfilled.

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DILIP MEHTA was born in 1952 in New Delhi, India. He's been a Founding Member of Contact Press Images since 1977. Early in his career, he won international acclaim for his coverage of the Gandhi family and his five-year reportage on the 1984 Bhopal tragedy, the worst chemical disaster in history. He has since produced extensive work from the US, the former USSR, China, South Asia and, in particular, from his native India where he is a veteran of the political scene. A regular contributor to the National Geographic, GEO in Germany and France, and Fortune magazine in the USA, in recent years he has documented the effects of widespread modernization on Asian society, especially in his own country.

I was first aware of Dilip's work years ago when his photographs accompanied "Tibet In Exile: Looking Homeward", a Geo Magazine photo essay (May 1981, pp 84-110). The article included, rarely seen at that time, photographs of His Holiness The Dalai Lama in his home in Dharamsala, India. Dilip told me recently his fondest memory "was of His Holiness repairing 2 camera bodies that had inexplicably stopped working while I was photographing him at 4:00 am in his bedroom for Geo."

In his award winning documentary, Forgotten Woman, Mehta offers a view of the life of some women forced to live in poverty in rural India once their husbands have died. The documentary follows Dilip's sister, Deepa Mehta's, Oscar nominated film Water. "Deepa's guiding hand has been present for my entire life. 'Water' certainly galvanized me to make this feature length documentary. The inspiration came entirely from the widows themselves," said Dilip, whose documentaries international screenings include the Dubai International Film Festival and the 2009 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

The film opened in New York with 4 stars–“Mr. Mehta puts an unforgettable face on a problem of unimaginable scope.” Nathan Lee- The New York Times.

THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN

Directed and filmed by Dilip Mehta, and written by Deepa Mehta

DUMBO GALLERY WALK: The Tibet Center

Nagarjuna, Tibetan Applique Thangka, 18' tall x 9' wide
Photograph (c) Herman Velez /All Rights Reserved

HH The Dalai under Nagarjuna's Thangka

Photograph (c) Herman Velez /All Rights Reserved

(please click image to enlarge)

HH The Dalai Bestowing Blessings at Radio City Music Hall, NYC

Photograph (c) Herman Velez /All Rights Reserved

Nov 5th • DUMBO 1st Thursday Walk: Until 8:00 Pm

THE TIBET CENTER is the oldest Tibetan Buddhist Center in NYC. It's not a Gallery, but you are welcome to come and look around Thursday evening. On display is the 18 foot tall (rolled to 12 foot to mind the ceilings) Nagarjuna Applique Thangka that was commissioned for HH The Dalai Lama. Other Tibetan paintings of the Buddha, White and Green Tara's, among other traditional pieces, are also on display.

The Tibet Center has moved out of Dumbo since I first posted this piece and is now located at the University Settlement/Houston Street Center, 273 Bowery x Houston St, New York City.

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THE 18 foot tall NAGARJUNA Applique Thangka was commissioned for The Dalai Lama's three days of Teachings on The Diamond Cutter Sutra by the Buddha and Seventy Verses on Emptiness by Nagarjuna. To begin, a request was made to the Master Tibetan Applique Artist, Dorjee Wangdue, in Dharamsala, India.

T. G. Dorjee Wangdue was born in Lhasa, Tibet in 1962. At the age of 16, he joined Namgyal Tantric Monastery of H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama. It was his teacher, Ven. Thupten Jamyang (late), a Kalachakra ceremony and ritual master assisting H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama, who encouraged him to learn and improve his natural talent in making religious images of applique. He later opened the Tibetan Applique Arts Training Centre in Dharamsala, where over 150 young Tibetans have learned this unique Art so far.

After The Tibet Center's request was placed, Master Dorjee Wangdue had a Thangka Painter from HH's own Namgyal Monastery make a pencil sketch of the Buddhist images for the huge piece. HH The Dalai Lama made adjustments to the sketch asking that the figure of the Buddha be placed above the central figure of Nagarjuna. The Applique Artist then designed the placement of all of the individual pieces and gave this to a team of crafts men and women who worked on it for many months. It was hung above HH The Dalai Lama in Radio City Music Hall, NYC, in 2007 and now resides in DUMBO.

The Tibet Center Website / Herman Velez Photography Website

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VIDEO'S

Master Tibetan Applique Artist, Dorjee Wandue, demonstrating the process of creating Applicate Thangka's. In Tibetan, no English sub-titles: Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Video 4, Video 5, Video 6
(Short on Patience? Just watch Video 3 )