Victor Chan (
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta ...
, 1945) is a physicist and a Hong-Kong-born Canadian writer. Founder of the
Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, Chan has known the
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
since 1972. Co-author with him of two essays, he also wrote a guide of pilgrimage to Tibet. He lives in Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.
[e]
Victor Chan
B.C. BookWorld, 2013.
Biography
Victor Chan was born in 1945 in Hong Kong which he left at the age of 20 years. He continued his education in Canada and the United States. He performed his graduate studies at the
Enrico Fermi Institute
__NOTOC__
The Institute for Nuclear Studies was founded September 1945 as part of the University of Chicago with Samuel King Allison as director. On November 20, 1955, it was renamed The Enrico Fermi Institute for Nuclear Studies. The name was s ...
Victoria Finlay
Victoria Finlay is a British writer and journalist, known for her books on colour and jewels. Her most famous book is ''Colour: Travels Through The Paint Box''.
Career
Finlay studied social anthropology at St Andrew's University, Scotland, and t ...
Spiritual Grazing Ground
South China Morning Post
The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...
, 22 avril 2000 of the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the be ...
in the field of
particle physics
Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) and b ...
.
In 1971, after his studies, Chan traveled to Europe in a van. His route took him to the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Neth ...
to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, and then through
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...
and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. During the travel, he was joined by two women, Cheryl Crosby, an American, and Rita, a German. In
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acc ...
, they were taken in hostage until the vehicle of hijackers crashed, allowing them to escape. Cheryl Crosby, a New York Buddhist practitioner, proposed Chan to go to
Dharamshala
Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855.
The ...
in India, where they arrived in March 1972. Cheryl had a letter of introduction to meet the Dalai Lama to discuss meditation. After answering her questions, the Dalai Lama turned to Victor Chan. Chan asked him if he hated the Chinese. He unhesitatingly replied negatively, explaining that he had forgiven the Chinese and did not blame the Chinese people. Victor Chan became a close friend of the Dalai Lama.
Between 1984 and 1988, he lived 4 years in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, using
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Provi ...
as a base to travel to
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
. In 1984, Chan made his first visit there, traveling 42,000 kilometers by foot, horse, yak, coracle, truck and bus.
[Tales of kindness and understanding from the Dalai Lama.](_blank)
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
, 23 October 2012 He returned in 1990 and traveled some of the main paths of sacred Tibetan pilgrimage, including
Kailash
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude o ...
, Tsari and Lapchi, the 3 most sacred mountains.
He then left Tibet and began to write. After 5 years of research in Europe, he published his guide to Tibet in 1994, a book he presented to the Dalai Lama in London the same year, 22 years after their last meeting.
[Daniel Wood, ]
Buddhism: The Dalai Lama and me
', ''The Vancouver Sun
The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published six ...
'', 3 January 2004 Professor
Michael Aris
Michael Vaillancourt Aris (27 March 1946 – 27 March 1999) was an English historian who wrote and lectured on Bhutanese, Tibetan and Himalayan culture and history. He was the husband of Aung San Suu Kyi, who would later become State Counsellor ...
wrote that this is the most detailed and comprehensive guide to Tibet, a landmark work of an worthy successor of the great explorers of the nineteenth century.
In 1999, Victor Chan asked the Dalai Lama if he could collaborate on a book.
[Daniel Wood,]
The Wisdom of Forgiveness, by the Dalai Lama and Victor Chan
, ''The Georgia Straight
''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...
'', 17 February 2005
For this book, ''
The Wisdom of Forgiveness'', originally published in English in 2004, and translated into 14 languages. Victor Chan has recorded hundreds of hours in the company of the Dalai Lama, following him in his travels around the world for conferences and Buddhist ceremonies, and realized dozens of daily interviews at his residence in Dharamsala, India, observing, discussing with him
and witnessing private audiences granted to personalities. When the Dalai Lama was asked why he allowed Chan to follow his life so closely, he explained: "His parents are Chinese. He grew up in Western atmosphere, but he is Chinese. I always believe in understanding. The Chinese living in America, it is very, very important to have one single Chinese, to have close contact, and a better understanding of Tibetans. Whenever they find opportunities to meet Chinese brothers and sisters showing interest in me and Tibet, to tell them the truth. I'm very happy. Secondly, (Victor) came to Dharamsala several meetings, on a few occasions he showed very strong emotions, so that means he's very sincere, not artificial, not cheating. Heart sincerity, that's important". From the book, the two men are good friends.
With Pitman B. Potter, director of the
Institute of Asian Research
The Institute of Asian Research (IAR) at the University of British Columbia is a research institute founded in 1978 and has been the foremost research centre in Canada for the inter-disciplinary study of Asia. With a broad geographic reach exten ...
at the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top three ...
, Victor Chan organized
a symposium from 17 to 20 April 2004,
at the
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is situated within the natural landscape of the campus and is surrounded by evergreens and rhododendr ...
Vancouver on the theme of peace and reconciliation. He invited the Dalai Lama to Canada where his last visit had 10 years previously. Two other Nobel laureates,
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic dis ...
, a longtime friend of the Dalai Lama, and
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi ( fa, شيرين عبادى, Širin Ebādi; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian political activist, lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was ...
, gave each a conference.
Václav Havel
Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...
, another longtime friend of the Dalai Lama initially invited, canceled his visit at the last minute due to medical reason.
Pico Iyer
Siddharth Pico Raghavan Iyer (born 11 February 1957), known as Pico Iyer, is a British-born essayist and novelist known chiefly for his travel writing. He is the author of numerous books on crossing cultures including ''Video Night in Kathmandu ...
, The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, p. 70-82 Paul Ekman
Paul Ekman (born February 15, 1934) is an American psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco who is a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation to facial expressions. He was ranked 59th out of t ...
, who attended the event in the public reports that Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald, Indian North America, and Rabbi
Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
Meshullam Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (28 August 1924 – 3 July 2014), commonly called "Reb Zalman" (full Hebrew name: ), was one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement and an innovator in ecumenical dialogue.
Early life
Born Meshullam Za ...
also pronounced a speech. Canadian Anglican Bishop
Michael Ingham was moderator of the discussion that closed the conference.
[David F. Dawes]
Dalai fever hits Canada
CanadianChristianity.com, 16 April 2004 Pico Iyer
Siddharth Pico Raghavan Iyer (born 11 February 1957), known as Pico Iyer, is a British-born essayist and novelist known chiefly for his travel writing. He is the author of numerous books on crossing cultures including ''Video Night in Kathmandu ...
, who attended the conference as a journalist, wrote a detailed account of it in his book
The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
With Pitman B. Potter, Victor Chan founded a Tibetan studies program.,
Apart from the Dalai Lama to Vancouver three times in 2004, 2006, and 2009,
he also invited celebrities such as
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic dis ...
,
Matthieu Ricard
Matthieu Ricard (; ne, माथ्यु रिका, born 15 February 1946) is a French writer, photographer, translator and Buddhist monk who resides at Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal.
Matthieu Ricard grew up among the perso ...
,
Mia Farrow
Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequen ...
,
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. Seen as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best know ...
,
Peter Buffett
Peter Andrew Buffett (born May 4, 1958) is an American musician, composer, author and philanthropist. With a career that spans more than 30 years, Buffett is an Regional Emmy Award winner, New York Times best-selling author and co-chair of the ...
,
Daniel Goleman
Daniel Goleman (born March 7, 1946) is an author, psychologist, and science journalist. For twelve years, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', reporting on the brain and behavioral sciences. His 1995 book ''Emotional Intelligence'' was on ''The ...
,
Daniel J. Siegel,
Ela Bhatt
Ela Ramesh Bhatt (7 September 1933 – 2 November 2022) was an Indian cooperative organiser, activist and Gandhian, who founded the Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA) in 1972, and served as its general secretary from 1972 to 19 ...
,
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi ( fa, شيرين عبادى, Širin Ebādi; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian political activist, lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was ...
,
Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and m ...
,
Stephen Covey
Stephen Richards Covey (October 24, 1932 – July 16, 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is '' of Highly Effective People''. His other books include '' First Things First'', ''P ...
,
Kim Campbell
Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, lawyer, and writer who served as the 19th prime minister of Canada from June 25 to November 4, 1993. Campbell is the first and so far only female p ...
, le
Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, b ...
,
Maria Shriver
Maria Owings Shriver (born November 6, 1955)
is an American journalist, author, a member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. She was married to ...
,
Michaelle Jean,
Ken Robinson,
Murray Gell-Mann
Murray Gell-Mann (; September 15, 1929 – May 24, 2019) was an American physicist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles. He was the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Theoretical ...
,
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
,
Jody Williams
Jody Williams (born October 9, 1950) is an American political activist known for her work in banning anti-personnel landmines, her defense of human rights (especially those of women), and her efforts to promote new understandings of security i ...
,
Mairead Maguire
Mairead MaguireFairmichael, p. 28: "Mairead Corrigan, now Mairead Maguire, married her former brother-in-law, Jackie Maguire, and they have two children of their own as well as three by Jackie's previous marriage to Ann Maguire." (born 27 Januar ...
,
Robert Putnam
Robert David Putnam (born 1941) is an American political scientist specializing in comparative politics. He is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. Putnam develo ...
,
Reginald Ray
Reginald Ray (born 1942) is an American Buddhist academic and teacher.
Ray studied Tibetan Buddhism, traditional shamanic wisdom, and yogic-contemplative practices with the Tibetan refugee and recognized Vajrayana traditional-wisdom holder Chö ...
and
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part of t ...
[ Douglas Todd]
Victor Chan: Not just another Dalai Lama dreamer
3 october 2009, blogs.vancouversun.com
Victor Chan founded the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education in Vancouver in 2005.
Chan's efforts led to the creation of an institution that, according to
Douglas Todd has become a force field for global change - with a particular focus on education reform, global philanthropy and promoting women's rights.
In 2013 he published with the Dalai Lama ''The Wisdom of Compassion'', which addresses, in particular, the scientific study of meditation on compassion. For
Craig Kielburger
Craig Kielburger (born December 17, 1982) is a Canadian human rights activist and social entrepreneur. He is the co-founder, with his brother Marc Kielburger, of the WE Charity, as well as We Day and the independent, social enterprise Me ...
and
Marc Kielburger
Marc Kielburger (born 1977) is a Canadian author, social entrepreneur, columnist, humanitarian and activist for children's rights. He is the co-founder, along with his brother Craig, of the We Movement, which consists of the WE Charity, an ...
, the center of Victor Chan plays a key role in enabling the Vancouver School Board to be at the forefront of teaching on compassion and social responsibility Education in Canada.
Victor Chan married East German landscape designer Suzanne Martin around 1994 with whom he had two daughters, Kira and Lina.,
Victor Chan is a member of the Advisory Board of the American NGO
International Campaign for Tibet.
ICT boards
International Campaign for Tibet website
Publications
Books
* 2013 : with the 14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
, ''The Wisdom of Compassion: Stories of Remarkable Encounters and Timeless Insights'', Riverhead,
* ''The Wisdom of Forgiveness: Intimate Conversations and Journeys'' New York: Riverhead Books, 2004
* ''Tibet Handbook: A Pilgrimage Guide, Moon Travel Handbooks'', 1994,
Articles and book chapters
* A Tale of Two Chinese Cities, in ''Exile as Challenge: The Tibetan Diaspora'', Dagmar Bernstorff, Hubertus von Welck, Orient Blackswan, 2003, , pp. 101–106.
* Appendix (Buddhism in British Columbia) in ''Buddhism in Canada'', Bruce Matthews, Psychology Press, 2006, , pp. 24–26.
At Home With the Dalai Lama
Septembre 2013, Shambhala Sun
''Lion's Roar'' (previously ''Shambhala Sun'') is an independent, bimonthly magazine (in print and online) that offers a nonsectarian view of "Buddhism, Culture, Meditation, and Life". Presented are teachings from the Buddhist and other contempla ...
.
References
External links
About Victor Chan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Victor
Hong Kong emigrants to Canada
1945 births
Living people
Canadian people of Chinese descent
Canadian physicists
Tibetologists
20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers
20th-century Chinese writers
21st-century Chinese writers
University of Chicago alumni
Foreign hostages in Afghanistan
21st-century Canadian male writers
Canadian male non-fiction writers