Interview: Preserving Tibetan Culture and Knowledge

Interview: Preserving Tibetan Culture and Knowledge

From Asia Rising by La Trobe Asia

April 30, 2026 · 20 min

About this episode

The episode features an interview with Geshe Lhakdor discussing the preservation of Tibetan culture and knowledge in the context of exile and modern challenges.

Tibet's story is one of the most profound of the modern era — a civilisation forced into exile, carrying its language, philosophy, and sacred texts across the Himalayas in an act of collective survival. Preserving that heritage, while also engaging the modern world, has become one of the defining challenges for Tibetans in diaspora. Few people embody that challenge more personally than Geshe Lhakdor. Born in Tibet in 1956, he fled to India as a child, went on to spend sixteen years as the personal English translator and religious assistant to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and has since become the Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala — one of the most important repositories of Tibetan knowledge in the world. Guest: Geshe Lhakdor Recorded 23rd March, 2024

People in this episode

Guest: Geshe Lhakdor

Topics covered

  • Tibetan culture
  • exile
  • diaspora
  • preservation of heritage
  • modern challenges

Keywords

  • Tibet
  • Tibetan culture
  • Geshe Lhakdor
  • Dalai Lama
  • cultural preservation
  • diaspora
  • Himalayas

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

Places: Tibet, India

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