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Yangsi Rinpoche, Geshe Tenzin Dorje and the family of Jim Blumenthal in front of the James A. Blumenthal Library, Maitripa College, Portland, Oregon, US, October 8, 2015. Photos courtesy of Maitripa College.
Maitripa College in Portland, Oregon, marked the one-year anniversary of the passing of Prof. Jim Blumenthal with a dedication ceremony for its library and a puja. Jim was integral to the Maitripa community and was also a frequent contributor to Mandala magazine. The FPMT International Merit Box Project helped fund new shelves for the library. Maitripa student Donna L. Brown shared this story on the event.
The James A. Blumenthal Library, dedicated to the memory of Prof. Jim Blumenthal, was launched on October 8 by Maitripa College in Portland, Oregon, with a moving ceremony that celebrated Jim’s full life. Jim taught at both Maitripa College and Oregon State University, and tragically passed away a year ago. Passionate about Maitripa College, he donated his collection of more than 1,300 books and journals to its library, which now bears his name. This gift has enabled the college to significantly expand its holdings, particularly into areas dear to Jim, such as social justice, peace, ecology, Madhyamaka philosophy, and Tibetan language and history.
The dedication ceremony was led by college president Yangsi Rinpoche and attended by 80 or so guests. These included Geshe Tenzin Dorje from Deer Park Buddhist Center in Wisconsin, Jim’s parents and brother, his wife Tiffany, his son Ben and Ben’s mother Sara, family friends, and Maitripa College’s community, as well many of the volunteers who worked tirelessly to integrate Jim’s collection with Maitripa’s.
Geshe Tenzin Dorje speaking about Jim Blumenthal’s connection to Buddhism
Jim’s brother Tom thanked the Maitripa community for its support to Jim and his family; Yangsi Rinpoche said the expanded library would ensure that Jim’s influence continued into the future by enhancing the development of scholars and practitioners; and Geshe Tenzin Dorje (translated by one-time Maitripa student Katrina Brooks) talked about Jim’s karmic connection to Buddhism, his kindness, his meaningful life, and how these would contribute to a fortunate rebirth. The ceremony was graced with music too: joking that Katrina should translate the lyrics into Tibetan, Jim’s good friend Jerry Joseph, a noted songwriter, performed a song he had written for Jim called “Craters of the Moon.”
Jim Blumenthal’s parents cut the ribbon for the library
After prayers led by Yangsi Rinpoche, Jim’s parents Jack and Susan Blumenthal cut the ribbon to officially open the James A. Blumenthal Library. The dedication ceremony was follow by Vajrasattva tsog.
The upgraded collection now offers substantially more material in support of academic work, Dharma practice and community service. A grant of US$3,000 from FPMT’s International Merit Box Project, alongside funds from other donors, helped pay for custom shelving to house the extra books. Maitripa College has also created a Friends of the James A. Blumenthal Library fund to encourage further expansion, and has developed a strategic plan for the library that includes further acquisitions, technology upgrades, training sessions in academic methods and professional staffing.
Jim would have smiled at the lyrics his friend Jerry Joseph wrote in his honor:
Eight long days
After you took your last breath
Well we all got the word and the monks all concurred
That your consciousness finally had left.
So we’re singing our prayers and the candles
We’re drawing mandalas in sand
We’re passing a pipe and a drum and a fight
And it’s time to kick up the band …
But hey now babe, were you ever with us in the room?
Or were you up there somewhere
Your fist in the air
In the craters of the moon?
… Are you up there somewhere
With our love, and our prayers
In the craters of the moon?
Some of the new library collection, Maitripa College
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