Thread by @CurtisSChin

Fair warning... Get ready for a thread celebrating H.H. the @DalaiLama's 84th birthday 🎂! Performances included! Honored to join @IRF_Ambassador, @AmbDMitchell, @USAID & @officeoftibet @NgodupTsering7 on the visit of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts to the U.S. & Canada.

First, a #quote. Whether #HongKongProtests or #girlseducation in South Asia, or a myriad of issues in #America, don't forget:

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito." ~H.H. the Dalai Lama

Next: Get ready for some video! ⬇️

A beautiful evening begins w/ the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), founded by the Dalai Lama in India, in exile from Tibet, in 1959. Then the Tibetan Music, Dance & Drama Society, it was established to preserve Tibetan artistic heritage, esp. opera, dance & music.

Scenes from a performance.
Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), at George Washington University. On the occasion of H.H. the @DalaiLama's 84th birthday 🎂. #livelongandprosper 🖖 Supported by @officeoftibet @USAID

A special shout-out to our US @StateDept Amb. at large for Intl. #ReligiousFreedom for joining tonite.

#quote. "The American people are with the Tibetan people. ... The American people are with the Dalai Lama in celebrating his birthday." ~@IRF_Ambassador Sam Brownback.

🙏🎂

Think #peacocks. @audubonsociety.... In this traditional Tibetan dance, some of the performers transform into peacocks through their dress & movements. #howcoolisthat. #artsandculture #dance #culture #Tibet ~ Thanks @officeoftibet @USAID for a great evening in Washington.

A favorite piece & performance: an ode to #Dharamsala, India ~ known also as "Little Lhasa" & home to H.H. the @DalaiLama & thousands of other #Tibetans in exile. May they all one day be able to return to a #Tibet marked by flourishing faith, culture & freedom. #ReligiousFreedom

Don't try this at home. Though I suppose you could try. This TwitterFeed though assumes no liability. Spinning drummers. Whirling dancers. And more. Years of training on display. Via the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA). 🙌 #culturaldiplomacy #culturematters

"An evening in #Tibet: A cultural performance of dance & music." And what a beautiful evening it was. With special thanks to @USAID, @officeoftibet & George Washington University; & how great to see @IRF_Ambassador Brownback & @AmbDMitchell here too. Now let's go to the 🎂cake!

How to sing #HappyBirthday in #Tibetan? Wonder no more! Let's go to the digital clip, as the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts joins the @officeoftibet to show us how it's done. Happy 84th birthday to H.H. the @DalaiLama 🙏. And that's @NgodupTsering7 cutting the 🎂 #cave. 🙌

Not to go quoting a cake on you, but... "Happy Birthday to His Holiness." Indeed! 😎

Then there's this:
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."
～@DalaiLama

And...
"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."

#WordsOfWisdom
#TweetItForward

Hey, that's my cousin Louise, just back from #Tibet. Clearly it's karma, as here she is now w/ 🙋🏻‍♂️, Ngodup Tshering (l), representative of H.H. the @DalaiLama at the @officeoftibet, & Ngawang Yonten (r), director of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) in DC.

Flashback. Meeting H.H. the Dalai Lama | Philippine Tatler ~ of life, death & living a meaningful life.
ph.asiatatler.com/life/meeting-t… @officeoftibet @DalaiLama @philtatler

Make that cutting the 🎂 #cake (not cave). @jack, #editbutton!

How to sing #HappyBirthday in #Tibetan? Let's go to the digital clip, as the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, & @officeoftibet @NgodupTsering7 show us how it's done. Happy 84th bday to H.H. the @DalaiLama 🙏.

And it’s a wrap. We wrap this thread with a #hug & birthday wishes to HH the @DalaiLama.

DYK: Having fled from #Tibet to #India, the Dalai Lama could well be one of the world's best known refugees.

RT. #Hugs.
Me: can I have a hug?
#DalaiLama: why not?

Cheers! @officeoftibet