New York–On Sunday afternoon on March 13th, Representative Lobsang Nyandak met with the members of the Tibetan Association of Northern California at their new community center in Richmond. President Kaydor Aukatsang introduced Mr. Nyandak to the community and announced a brief Q&A session after the talk. Representative Mr. Nyandak focused his remarks on the Middle Way Policy; he talked about its history, evolution and current process. He mentioned the Kashag’s concern that many Tibetans don’t have a clear understanding of the Middle Way approach and policy, and stressed that it is important for Tibetans to be aware of the background and reasons behind continuity of the Middle Way policy, and also gradual changes in the specifics of the policy. Mr. Nyandak also referred to the Special Meeting of 2008 at which over eighty percent of the meeting attendees endorsed the Middle Way and said the Middle Way policy should continue.
Before the meeting with the local Tibetans, Mr. Nyandak met with TANC’s Tibetan School Committee members who oversee the functioning of TANC’s weekend Tibetan school. Principal Ugyen Tsering la and the committee members gave a report on the school’s functioning, activities and budget and informed Mr. Nyandak of challenges facing the school as well as opportunities for improvement and growth.
On Wednesday evening, March 16th, the Representative met with the members of the Tibetan community of Minnesota, the second largest Tibetan community in the United States. President Tsewang Ngodup la introduced Mr. Nyandak to the audience. Mr. Nyandak again focused his talk on the Middle Way policy, as well as updating the Tibetans of Minnesota on the overall situation of the Tibetans communities in North America.
The Office of Tibet was able to distribute booklets published by DIIR introducing the Middle Way policy to Tibetans in both San Francisco and Minnesota.
