Nicholas Vreeland
Nicholas Vreeland | |
|---|---|
| Title | Khen Rinpoche |
| Personal | |
| Born | Switzerland |
| Religion | Tibetan Buddhism |
| Nationality | American |
| School | Gelug |
| Education | American University of Paris, New York University, Rato Dratsang |
| Occupation | Scholar |
| Senior posting | |
| Teacher | Khyongla Rato Rinpoche |
| Based in | Rato Dratsang |
| Part of a series on |
| Tibetan Buddhism |
|---|
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Nicholas Vreeland, or Nicky Vreeland, also known as Ven. Geshe Thupten Lhundup (his monk's name), and, since 2012 as Khen Rinpoche, is a fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist monk who is the abbot of Rato Dratsang, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in South India. Vreeland is also a photographer. He is the grandson of Diana Vreeland, the fashion journalist.
Vreeland spends half of his time in the monastery in India, and the other half in New York City, where he is the Director of The Tibet Center, the oldest center in New York City for the study of Tibetan Buddhism.
History
Vreeland was born in Switzerland. He lived in Germany and Morocco, and then came back with his family to New York.[1] As a teenager, Vreeland became interested in photography; he worked as an assistant with photographers Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, who were both friends of Vreeland's grandmother, Diana Vreeland, the editor of Vogue magazine.
Nicholas Vreeland attended The American University of Paris in the early 1970s, subsequently finishing his BA at New York University Film School, staying with his grandmother for part of that time.[1]
In 1977, Richard Avedon's son John Avedon introduced Vreeland to Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, and Vreeland started studying Tibetan Buddhism. In 1979, Vreeland was on a trip to India for a photography assigment when he first met His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in Dharamsala.[2]
In 1985 Vreeland became a monk at Rato Monastery, when there were still only 27 monks there. He studied for 13 years and received his Geshe degree in 1998. He also helped raise enough money (through putting his photographs up for sale) to enable the monastery to create large new buildings.[1]
Vreeland has edited two books by the 14th Dalai Lama:
- An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life, 2005, which was a New York Times bestseller
- A Profound Mind, 2011
In 2012, the Dalai Lama announced that Vreeland was appointed as the new abbot of Rato Dratsang. The Dalai Lama explained that Vreeland's “special duty [is] to bridge Tibetan tradition and [the] Western world.”
In May 2014, Vreeland was awarded an honorary degree from The American University of Paris.[2]
Documentary film
Also in 2014, Monk with a Camera: The Life and Journey of Nicholas Vreeland, a documentary film by Guido Santi and Tina Mascara, was released. The film also featured Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Richard Gere, John Avedon, Alexander Vreeland, Ptolemy Tompkins, Tonne Goodman, Wendy Goodman, and Frederick Vreeland.[3]
Photography exhibitions
Vreeland has had several exhibitions of his photographs. The art work is sold in order to raise money for Rato Monastery.
- "Return to the Roof of the World", February 2013, Taipei, Taiwan. These were photographs taken when Vreeland accompanied Khyongla Rato Rinpoche on his first return visit to the Dagyab district of Tibet. Vreeland also gave three public talks in Taiwan.
Further reading
- New York Times fashion & Style section, "Even the Dalai Lama Has a Point Man" by Lizette Alvarez May 19, 2010 [4]
References
- ^ a b c PBS, WNET, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, June 15, 2012, "Buddhist Abbot Nicholas Vreeland" [1] Accessed 2014-6-3
- ^ a b American University of Paris [2] Accessed 2014-6-3
- ^ Variety magazine, Film, Reviews, "This pleasing documentary from Guido Santi and Tina Mascara charts the improbable story of Nicholas 'Nicky' Vreeland", by Dennis Harvey, [3] Accessed 2014-6-3