THE STANFORD CENTER FOR BUDDHIST STUDIES Is pleased to present a special lecture series on:   TIBETAN CULTURE with the ARJIA RINPOCHE: ESCAPE FROM CHINA   Monday, February 24 7:30-8:30 P.M. Pigott Hall (Building 260), Room 113, Stanford University, Stanford, CA   This talk will begin with special chanting by the Tibetan Buddhist monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery of India   Venerable Arjia Rinpoche, the Abbot of Kumbum Monastery in Amdo, Tibet, is one of the most important religious leaders to leave Tibet since the Dalai Lama fled into exile in 1959.  He escaped in 1998 and has set up a center in California where he aspires to preserve Tibetan Buddhist art, culture, and philosophy.   During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Rinpoche was forced to work as a farmer in the fields, yet he managed to continue his Buddhist practices in secrecy.  Fortunately, two of his most important teachers were in his commune, which made it easier to receive teachings. One of these teachers was Jayak Rinpoche (tutor to the Panchen Lama) and Tsultrim Lhaksem (tutor to the elder brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama). Rinpoche has worked with more than ten lineage teachers, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Arjia Rinpoche is an artist and craftsman, and one of his sand mandalas is now in the Smithsonian Institute.  This extraordinary masterwork took Rinpoche and his assistants nine months to design and create.  As Abbot of Kumbum Monastery, Rinpoche oversaw the renovation of the Monastery, one of the oldest and largest in Tibet, encompassing more than 100 buildings spread out over 600 acres. As part of the project, he designed and built the largest three-dimensional Kalachakra mandala in the world, and restored lama Tsong-khapa’s Stupa. Arjia Rinpoche is fluent in Tibetan, Chinese, and Mongolian, and since his move to the United States, he has become quite adept in English. Arjia Rinpoche will bring his artistic background to the fore, with a discussion of how to interpret a Tibetan thankga painting.  Rinpoche will discuss the male and female Buddhas (such as Shakyamuni and Tara), and some of the symbolism of the colors, mudras and deities shown in the paintings.    Co-Sponsored by: The Dalai Lama Foundation, The Committee of 100 for Tibet Vivian Drew, Anonymous Donors The Stanford Office of Religious Life, The Society for Art and Cultural Heritage of India   All lectures are free and open to the public   For more information or directions, please contact: wabraham@stanford.edu (650) 725-6025 www.stanford.edu/group/scbs   Other lectures are:   Tibetan Sacred Arts (I) Monday, March 10 7:30-8:30 P.M. Pigott Hall (Building 260), Room 113   Tibetan Sacred Arts (II) Monday, March 17 7:30-8:30 P.M. Faculty Club – Gold Lounge