Tashi Delek!

Tashi Delek! Today is the Tibetan New Year, Losar. That is the traditional New Year greeting in Tibet.

I converted to Tibetan Buddhism over ten years ago, but I'm not going to discuss religion. What I want to point out is something really amazing about the Tibetans.

In 1959 China invaded Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama with many monks and nuns escaped Tibet over the Himalayan Mountains. Some traveled on horseback, but many walked over the Himalayan Mountains into India and Nepal.

At the time they went into exile, Tibet was very isolated from the rest of the world. If you watch the movies Seven Years in Tibet and Kundun, you'll get an idea of how technologically illiterate they were.

Here's the amazing thing, they have embraced 21st century technology more thoroughly than any group that I know. Back in the late 90's when the internet was young, many of the Tibetan teachers, organizations, and centers had websites with information and teaching on it. And now here we are in 2011. They still have their websites with even more stuff on it including classes that you can take online which wasn't available ten years ago. And you can find them on facebook, twitter, and youtube.

Here's the Dalai Lama's website, facebook, twitter, and youtube channel.

Amazing. Simply amazing considering how many US businesses and organizations still don't have basic websites.