Presentation of books by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hahn at the Festival of Tibet at ILTK.

From September 12-14, 2025, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK), Italy, hosted the fifth edition of Festival of Tibet in Pomaia with thousands of participants benefiting from the event. The Tibetan community in Italy was brought together for a weekend of several Dharma teachings, book presentations, Dharma art activities for children, and Tibetan street food. Carlota Pinheiro and Fabiana Lotito share the story:

Love, Compassion, and Dharma

Participants during teachings at the Festival of Tibet at Istituto Lama Tzongkhapa, Pomaia, Italy, September 2025.

We have received nothing but kindness and generosity from the Tibetan people, despite their unimaginable suffering over decades. Though their homes, monasteries, and material heritage have been destroyed, what they strive most to preserve—and what they offer us with open hearts—are the teachings of love and compassion, the precious Dharma itself.

As Dharma practitioners and global citizens, we have much to learn from this resilience. While our world seems to destroy itself more each day, the Tibetan community shows us the way where wisdom and compassion are the true inheritance we pass to future generations.

This festival honored not just Tibetan culture, but the extraordinary capacity of the human heart to transform suffering into wisdom, loss into generosity, and exile into a gift for all humanity.

A Letter from His Holiness the Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Dalai Lama kindly wrote a letter addressed to ILTK on the occasion of the festival, noting how our programs would offer participants “a greater understanding of our rich Tibetan Buddhist cultural heritage” and emphasizing that this “culture of peace and compassion” has “great potential to contribute to the betterment of humanity in general.” His words reminded us that wherever we find ourselves, when we can be “cordial and compassionate, we will live meaningful lives doing what we can for the good of society.” We encourage you to read the letter from His Holiness in full. 

Celebrating Tibetan Heritage: A Weekend of Dharma, Culture, and Community

The festival was inaugurated with a Lama Chopa puja, followed by the streaming of the wonderful movie “Never Forget Tibet: The Dalai Lama’s Untold Story”, the deeply personal account of the 14th Dalai Lama’s escape from Tibet in 1959. Watching the journey of His Holiness through the most difficult hardships and fears on those mountains, brings us face to face with an extraordinary act of preservation—not just of a single life, but of an entire civilization, a profound spiritual heritage.

Geshe Tenzin Thenpel, resident teacher of ILTK, offering teachings during the Festival of Tibet at ILTK, Italy, September 2025. Photo by Antonella Stancheris.

Millenia of Wisdom: Teachings and Books

As the sun rose on Saturday, September 13, it was time for the precious teachings of Geshe Jampa Gelek and Geshe Tezin Tenphel, our two resident teachers at ILTK, the teachers of the FPMT Masters Program and FPMT Basic Program, respectively, as well as weekend monthly retreats. The topic, acknowledging the Year of Compassion as a year-long celebration of the life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, was on compassion and how this practice can help humanity and be our direct path to lasting happiness.

On the morning of Sunday, October 14, we were gifted with more teachings on the same topic for the new visitors, blessing the festival with wisdom and genuine laughs. The afternoons were enriched by the guided meditations of Ven. Sonam Wangchuk.

On both afternoons, we gathered in the Tea Garden for the presentation of two books: Following in the Buddha’s Footsteps: Refuge, Ethical Conduct, Calm‑Abiding, and Insight Meditation, by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and Ven. Thubten Chodron, and Il Nocciolo Della Vacuità by Thich Nhat Hanh, a recent Italian publication based on his teachings on selections from Nagarjuna’s Stanzas on the Middle Way (which has not been published in English).

Both books have been made available in Italian by Nalanda Edizione, publisher of FPMT Italy, and Ubiliber, The Italian Buddhist Union’s (UBI) publisher, respectively.

In the Tea Garden, we hosted “A Space for the Young,” recognizing the importance of connecting younger generations with Tibetan values. A thoughtful 12-year-old girl interviewed Geshe Thenpel about compassion and how to deal with difficult thoughts and challenging friendships.

Wisdom in Dialogue

On a secular approach, the festival was enriched by two deeply meaningful conferences that brought Buddhist wisdom into conversation with our contemporary world—academic and political. We welcomed five professors from the University of Pisa for a conversation on “Compassion and End of Life in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition.” Ciro Conversano, Angelo Gemignani, Francesco La Rocca, Bruno Neri, and Ilaria Vaglini explored end-of-life in a spiritual, scientific, and philosophical way that fosters awareness and acceptance.

We also had the privilege of hearing from Senator Andrea De Priamo, President of the Italia-Tibet Parliamentary Intergroup, who opened our hearts with a talk entitled: “Dalai Lama: The Politics of Compassion,” which was a reflection on how His Holiness’s approach to leadership and search for peace—choosing compassion over power—offers us a beautiful vision for how we might govern and relate to one another. This conference had the privilege to welcome Claudio Cardelli, President of Italy-Tibet Association, Ven. Massimo Stordi and, via Zoom, Kungo Thinlay Chukky, Representative of the Dalai Lama in Geneva for Southeastern Europe.

These conversations reminded us that the Dharma doesn’t live only in our meditation practice, but can walk with us through our hospitals, our homes, and even our halls of government, gently teaching us how to care for each other.

Traditional Tibetan dance being offered at the Festival of Tibet at ILTK. Photo by Antonella Stancheris.

Art as Dharma: Creative Expressions of the Path

The festival came alive with vibrant artistry. Our institute’s dance group, after months of dedicated practice, gathered in a large circle and invited Tibetans to join them in sharing traditional dances, creating a beautiful moment of cultural celebration and community. In the garden, Ani Lucia opened a tsa-tsa workshop, welcoming visitors, parents, and children to learn the sacred art of crafting these small clay offerings—miniature statues that carry prayers and merit. Alongside this, the Dharma Art Academy guided visitors through their first steps in painting a thangka!

Three compelling photo exhibitions enriched the experience: “Ladakh: The Little Tibet of India Monasteries and Buddhist Religious Festivals,” by Antonella Stancheris, “The Life of Siddhartha the Buddha,” by Piero Sirianni, and “Dalai Lama: 90 Years of Compassion,” by the Tibetan Community in Italy, which traced His Holiness’s remarkable journey meeting with great leaders around the world. Together, these activities invited everyone as participants in Tibet’s living traditions.

Ani Lucia at the tsa-tsa making booth at ILTK’s Festival of Tibet. Photo by Antonella Stancheris.

Opening Hearts, Opening Doors

One of the most beautiful aspects of our Tibet Festival was witnessing how many people stepped through our doors for the very first time to encounter Dharma and Tibetan culture. The informal atmosphere created perfect conditions for meaningful encounters, with mantra concerts in the tea garden and stands throughout the courtyard offering diverse ways to connect: sessions on Tibetan Medicine and Yoga, members of the Tibetan community in Italy welcoming visitors, and the Italian association “Dare Protezione” (Giving Protection) offering one-on-one dialogues and support about the death process for oneself and loved ones.

The creation of the sand mandala of Chenrezig for the Festival of Tibet at ILTK. Photo by Antonella Stancheris.

Seeds of Transformation

The festival reached its culmination with the dissolution of the sand mandala of Chenrezig, constructed over a week by Geshe Lhundrup, Elisa Macci, and two geshes from Sera Jey Monastery in India who were invited to help with it’s creation. This extraordinary work—countless hours of meticulous drawing and painting with colored sand while chanting mantras—vanished in mere seconds. Geshe Lhundrup, resident at ILTK, smiled and said “mitagpa!”—impermanence in Tibetan. “So many hours of work and gone in one second!”

Many visitors gathered in the room to witness this powerful moment they will forever carry in their hearts—a living demonstration of the Buddha’s core teaching on impermanence.

As the colored sands were swept away, we dedicated this merit to all those who are not at peace at this moment. We dedicated the merit generated from the whole festival to the end of wars, cultivation of peace, and to the finding of the path to lasting happiness.

With grateful thanks to Carlota Pinheiro & Fabiana Lotito for this story. We welcome the submission of news stories from those within the FPMT community. This can be a story about something you have personally completed or accomplished, about someone else who has done so, or about the FPMT center, project, or service of which you are a part. Ideal submissions will give readers reasons to rejoice, share ideas, and create connections between those in the international community. Have something to share? Please let us know!

Please read another recent story about ILTK’s community events. 

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.