The evening at the New York institution saw the audience captivated by a riveting talk about the speakers’ mutual love for Tibet and its people as well as their respective experiences with Buddhist practice and theory. In a dialogue moderated by U.S. editor of the Financial Times Gillian Tett, Gere and Laird elaborated on their relationships with His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as other common teachers and stressed the importance of Murals of Tibet as a unique work celebrating Tibetan culture and heritage. Gere expressed his admiration for Thomas Laird’s painstaking efforts to bring the murals of Tibet to a global audience and highlighted the significance of the book for Buddhist practitioners and scholars alike.

The speakers and guests congratulated Thomas Laird and TASCHEN on their landmark project, recognizing the book not only as a tribute to the stunning art it depicts, but also as a tool for further research and an unparalleled archive of Tibetan art to be treasured by future generations.