“Ithaca is a community that welcomes people of all backgrounds. The more diverse we are, the stronger we are.”- Mayor Svante Myrick
North America's Home to the Dalai Lama
Ithaca is home to the Namgyal Monastery, the North American seat of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, as well as the Library & Museum of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The library and museum contain a collection of writings, teachings, and spiritual artifacts of the last 14 Dalai Lamas, the spiritual leaders of the Tibetan Buddhist faith. Namgyal Monestary is the Institute of Buddhist Studies and is located on Ithaca’s South Hill.
Ithaca is home of Carl Sagan’s resting place. Carl Sagan was a cosmologist, astronomer, and physicist famous for hosting the 1980 PBS television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, as well as writing the science-fiction novel Contact. Carl Sagan worked at Cornell University from 1970 until his death in 1996 and can be honored in the Lakeview Cemetery in Ithaca.
Ithaca is home to two great higher education institutes where you can take an academic approach to religion. Two programs are offered locally: the Religious Studies Program in The College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University, as well as the Religious Studies Program in the Department of Philosophy & Religion in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Ithaca College.
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