Buddhist “rock star nun” Ani Choying Drolma is playing two concerts in the United States to raise money for the victims of Nepal’s 2015 earthquake.
Nepal continues to rebuild following a series of major earthquakes last April and May. With the death toll exceeding 8,500, the disaster was the deadliest on record, Reuters reported.
After the earthquake, everyone became active,” Ani Choying said in an interview with Tricycle. “People on the street would say: ‘Where are you going next tomorrow? Can I join?’”
Ani Choying said that the main obstacles to rebuilding are government bureaucracy and a lack of roads and other infrastructure.
“It’s taking time,” said the nun, who lost her home in the earthquake. “But . . . just being angry [at the government] and criticizing is not enough. [The slow process of rebuilding] actually gives us more energy and enthusiasm to become more active.”
The concert is organized with Grassroot Movement in Nepal (GMIN), a nonprofit that has worked in 126 villages and assisted 7,563 households. A series of concerts through the summer will help GMIN continue fundraising.
Ani Choying will perform at 8 p.m. on March 26 at Queens College’s Colden Auditorium in Flushing. Tickets range from $25 to $100.
She is also scheduled to play at 7 p.m. on April 2 at the Lisner Auditorium in Washington D.C.
Tickets for both the New York and DC events are available at www.anichoyinginusa.com.
Watch Ani Choying discuss the largest obstacles for the relief effort:
Ani Choying Drolma was filmed at New York Insight Meditation Center
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