American to become abbott of Tibetan Buddhist Monastry

[jeeprs]

The Dalai Lama has given Nicholas Vreeland, director of The Tibet Center in New York, a daunting new assignment. On July 6, 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.

More here.

[Dechen Norbu]

Very interesting. Seems a good decision by HHDL.

[Indrajala]

This might demonstrate to Asia that, yes, westerners can be real Buddhists, too.

[tomamundsen]

Wow! That's great! So it's Gelug?

[JKhedrup]

Yup, Rato Monastery is a Gelug monastery, officially under the auspices of Drepung. But in many ways they function as a separate monastery and use their own debate manuals, liturgies and preserve their own practice style.

[Knotty Veneer]

It gives me real hope when I see news like this. I sometimes throw my hands up in despair at the likes of Michael Roach or Ole Nydahl but then I remember there are western practitioners Nicholas Vreeland or Tenzin Palmo or Matthieu Ricard and many others and I feel better.