After I see the Dalai Lama at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, my friend Arjia Rinpoche, Director of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center (TMBCC) of Bloomington, Indiana, will visit Dayton, Ohio, to promote his new book, Surviving the Dragon, published by Rodale Book Company with a forward written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Surviving the Dragon is the story of Arjia Rinpoche’s growing up as the reincarnated Abbot in Kumbum, one of Tibet’s major monasteries. After the death of Mao Tse Tung, Arjia Rinpoche rose to prominence within the Chinese Buddhist bureaucracy. He was slated to become tutor of the Chinese-selected Panchen Lama, but he fled Tibet rather than betray his Buddhist religion and his Tibetan and Mongolian heritage. Rinpoche’s unique experience provides a rare perspective on this tumultuous period of Tibetan and Chinese history as well as a glimpse of life inside a Buddhist monastery in Tibet.

I will be hosting Rinpoche as he visits Dayton for multiple events. 4 pm October 25th, Rinpoche will host a book talk and signing at at Borders Books and Music. October 26th Rinpoche will deliver a lecture to The Miami Valley School Tibetan Buddhism class. At 4 – 5:45 pm The University of Dayton Cultural Studies Department then hosts Rinpoche on campus for a talk and book signing.

For a complete list of dates and events access the “Surviving The Dragon” site through the TMBCC website.