Festival of Tibet

17/06/2026

We’re deeply saddened by the passing of Prof. Robert A.F. Thurman, Tibetans lovingly called him “Bob la.” A dear friend, passionate supporter of Tibet and Freedom and lifelong friend of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Bob la has left us for his inward journey. Thank you with deep gratitude for your unwavering commitment to the Tibetan cause.

Whenever I met Bob la or Nena la, they would joyously call me “Oh! My Tibetan Snow Lion brother” and I would call Bob la, “Our American Snow Lion with a huge Tibetan Heart.” These little joyous moments would fill the whole space with love and big hearty laughters. One of my fav memory is the super special private intimate concert I gave for Bob, Nena & Ganden la’s friends in Ladakh at the altitude of 11,500 feet above sea level during the Kalachakra initiation by His Holiness in Leh.

With love and much prayer I say Safe passage through the bardo, my dear friend. And my heartfelt condolences to Nena la & Family and all the friends of .us

We will miss you our American Snow Lion with a Tibetan heart Bob la! Here is something simple yet powerful that everyone can recite.

Om Ma Ni Padme Hum ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པདྨེ་ཧཱོུཾ།

May the element of space not rise up as an enemy,
may you see the Realm of the blue buddha.
May the element of water not rise up as enemy,
may you see the Realm of the white buddha.
May the element of earth not rise up as an enemy,
may you see the realm of the yellow buddha.
May the element of fire not rise up as an enemy,
may you see the realm of the red buddha.
May the element of air not rise up as an enemy,
may you see the realm of the green buddha,
May the rainbow of the elements not rise up as enemies,
may you see the realm of all the buddhas.
May the sounds, lights and rays not rise up as enemies,
may you see the infinite realms of the Peaceful and Wrathful Ones.
May you know all the sounds as your own sound,
may you know all the lights as your own light,
may you know all the rays as you own ray.
May you spontaneously know the bardo as yourself,
may you attain the realms of the three kayas.

16/06/2026

Tashi Delek from Oslo! With Tibetans in Tibet and in exile, His Hol...

16/06/2026

When culture, courage and creativity jam together, you get something unforgettable.

Huge congratulations to Tenzin Choegyal, winner of the World Music category at the 2026 Queensland Music Awards, proudly supported by the Queensland Government!🌟

From his early days in the Tibetan Children’s Village to building his musical career in Brisbane, Tenzin’s story is one of resilience, creativity and cultural pride. His award‑winning album Snow Flower reflects the many cultures that make up modern Australia, while honouring the deep traditions of his Tibetan heritage.

Tibetan communities around the world are celebrating this win, and so are we. 🎉

📸: Supplied, Tenzin Choegyal

16/06/2026

16/06/2026

Thank you to everyone at Oslo Freedom Forum for welcoming me, along with so many inspiring Tibetan activists and advocates for freedom from around the world.

As we say goodbye, I say -
“Let us say goodbye, say goodbye to meet again soon. In the meantime, may we meet each other in all forms of life, with freedom in our hearts.”

And as we part ways, I also carry with me Richard Gere’s powerful reminder of the importance of humility and humor when standing up for what you believe in against all odds.

Deep gratitude to Richard Gere for decades of unwavering support for the Tibetan freedom movement and standing with those whose voices are too often ignored.

It was an honor to gift him a Vinyl copy of limited edition of my recently released album, Be the Sky, created in collaboration with Philip Glass in honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday. The album features the children of Tibetan Children’s Village, Saori Tsukada, Alex Gray, and the Scorchio Quartet. Cover art by my dear friend Tenzing Rigdol. “It so nice and good to hold the music.”

Until we meet again. 🙏✨
RichardGere DalaiLama90 HumanRights

09/05/2026

https://youtu.be/tLJrIh2yNJ0?si=iNMOTzUSjmZniWdq

✨ Here is a little video postcard to Gleny Rae & everyone at Top Half Folk Festival ✨💛A little video postcard created from a combination of two beautiful mo...

17/04/2026

For you weekend listening pleasure “Wo La So” is a phrase often spoken by Tibetans at the threshold of a journey, a breath before stepping into new possibilities. Inspired by the verses of the Sixth Dalai Lama, it reflects a gentle wisdom of embracing change with courage, openness, and trust in what lies ahead.

A swan lingers at the edge of a quiet lake, reluctant to leave the place it has come to love. For a moment, it imagines staying - just a little longer - held by beauty, memory, and stillness. But winter arrives without asking. Ice begins to form across the water’s surface, and in that quiet transformation, a truth reveals itself: nothing can be held forever. With a final glance, the swan lifts its wings and flies on-without regret.

ངང་པ་མཚོ་ལ་ཆགས་ནས།
རེ་ཞིག་སྡད་དགོས་བསམས།
མཚོ་མོ་དར་ཁ་བཅགས་་ནས།
རང་སེམས་ཁོ་ཐག་ཆོད།

This image, drawn from a poem by the Sixth Dalai Lama, became the seed for Wo La So, a musical reflection on impermanence and the grace of letting go. The Sixth Dalai Lama himself remains one of the most beloved and unconventional figures in Tibetan history - his poetry filled with longing, playfulness, and earthly love. His life, full of mystery and gentle rebellion, continues to live on not only in written verse but in stories passed down through generations. His antics, his romances, and his refusal to conform to expectation are still shared in oral traditions, keeping his spirit vividly alive.

Co-composed by Tenzin Choegyal and Katherine Philp, and arranged by Philp, “Wo La So” is a phrase often spoken by Tibetans at the threshold of a journey-a breath before the leap into the unknown. In this work, it carries both courage and surrender, echoing the swan’s quiet decision to leave.

Performed by Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, alongside Tenzin Choegyal and Katherine Philp, the music weaves voice and strings into a landscape of reflection and release.
The piece appears on the album Yeshi Dolma, named in honour of Tenzin’s late mother. Her life-marked by resilience, loss, and extraordinary generosity in exile-forms a deeper emotional current beneath the music. As she raised her children and nurtured many others displaced from their homeland, her story became one of enduring strength and compassion.

454 likes, 23 comments. "“Wo La So” | Tenzin Choegyal with Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra"