The Tibetan Village Project

"The Tibetan Village Project (TVP) is a non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to alleviating poverty and preserving the rich cultural heritage of Tibet." I encourage you to have a look at this site. There is a link to their ebay store as well as a summer trip to Tibet and other ways to help.

http://www.tibetanvillageproject.org/index.html

Pele La, just before sunset

Nepalese Boy

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0011/shangrila_photo7.html

Flags from India, China, Tibet, and Nepal

From an article about birth and rebirth:

"TANTRIC BUDDHISM adds yet another dimension to the concept of rebirth. In Tantra, death and rebirth are regarded as experiences that one may undergo in one's present lifetime through yogic practices that simultaneously purify the mind and body. The subtle psychic energies that carry a person's thought and emotions are normally dispersed throughout the body. A practitioner of Tantric yoga learns to draw these energies into the central, spinal channel, where they no longer support dualistic thought. Egoic selfhood, which is predicated upon dualistic thought, is thereby deprived of its foundation and spontaneously dissolves. Further concentrating the energies into a single point, or drop, at the heart, the seat of consciousness, brings about a psychic death. The illusory self, the false ego, dies, and the clear light of universal awareness dawns in its wake."

http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ADM/shaw.htm