(TibetanReview.net, Apr30’22) – A ceremony of breaking the ground was held for a Dalai Lama library and learning centre at the Namgyal Monastery in Ithaca City, New York state, on Apr 29, reported the ithacavoice.com Apr 29.
The library will house all the written works of the 14th Dalai Lama as well as of all previous Dalai Lamas, and more than 4,000 books, including translations of ancient texts and artifacts of historical and religious significance to Buddhism in India and Tibet, the report said.
Ithaca is home to the North America seat of the Dalai Lama’s Namgyal Monastery. The top spiritual leader of Tibet was stated to have chosen to build the library at Ithaca’s Namgyal Monastery in 2016 over dozens of other possible locations across the globe.
At the ceremony, golden shovels were sunk into the earth by local officials, Buddhist leaders, and close friends of the monastery on a crisp bluebird-sky day to signify the beginning of construction, the report said.
The event was reported to have drawn a who’s-who type of crowd to the monastery, including local officials, the Ithaca area’s Tibetan community and Tibetan Buddhists from far reaches.
The members of the monastery and the Tibetan community were stated to have put on a cultural event for everyone who stayed after the official groundbreaking, featuring singing, dancing and the hospitality of hot tea and sweet rice.
The building was stated to have been designed by Holt Architects and its construction funded through a $5 million fundraising campaign.