Pavilion of Tibetan Culture

Introduction

Auroville was founded on 28 February 1968 in South India by the Mother, the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo. A philosopher, poet and national leader, Sri Aurobindo led the Nationalist movement in the early 1900's, but he soon realized that a deeper and more powerful revolution was needed for humanity to pass to the next stage of its evolution.
Sri Aurobindo retired in Pondicherry in 1910 and from here worked to hasten the coming of a new world and a new life: a Life Divine upon earth. After his departure in 1950, his work was continued by the Mother.

The international township is to be a "site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual human unity." The Mother has declared in Auroville's Charter that Auroville is the site of 'an unending education and the youth that never ages."

Surrounding the Matrimandir, the soul of Auroville, are the four zones of the township: cultural, industrial, residential and international. In the last zone, all the nations of the world are invited to build a pavilion representing their specific culture and genius. In January 1973, His Holiness the Dalai Lama met the Mother in Pondicherry and visited Auroville. He came again over Christmas 1993 to lay the Foundation Stone of the Tibetan Pavilion.

In 1996, His Holiness blessed the Pavilion with a contribution of 100,000 Rs (approx. $3000) as seed money for raising the necessary funds to complete the project. His Holiness said that he was "very pleased about how the work is progressing and very appreciative of Auroville's dedication and determination for the Tibetan people."

Since then more than 1,00,000 $ have been collected this includes a participation from 3000$ each from each Department of the Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamsala.

The main purposes of the Pavilion are to have a cultural center of Tibet in the international zone of Auroville, and a training center for young Tibetans wanting to take advantage of Auroville 30 years of researches and experiments.

Auroville is daily visited by hundreds of Indian and foreign visitors, guests and friends of Auroville. Once completed the Pavilion will be a window on the ancient culture of Tibet.
For the past ten years, Auroville has conducted a large number of workshops, seminars and training sessions to see how the alternative technologies developed in Auroville could be replicated in the different Tibetan settlements in India and in Tibet.
In a letter, Kalon Tashi Wangdi, the Minister for Religion and Culture of the Tibetan government-in-exile wrote: "There is a deep connection between Tibetans and Auroville since 1971. His Holiness was invited to Auroville twice. Many Tibetans have been trained in Auroville in different skills like appropriate building technology skills, afforestation and environmental protection, etc."

I feel that Tibetan culture with its unique heritage - has developed some kind of energy, which is useful, and very helpful, towards cultivating peace of mind and a joyful life. I feel that there is a potential for Tibet to help humanity, ...I feel very strongly that Tibetan culture will have a future role to play in humanity. So therefore, wherever there are spiritual centers like Auroville, if Tibet can participate it can be a way or a channel to communicate Tibetan culture to other people.  

The Dalai Lama in Auroville, December 24th, 1993