#18820 Finding Inner Peace in Staten Island, New York

A piece of Tibet has found its way to Staten Island. In 1947, actress Jacqueline “Jacques” Marchais, a longtime collector of Tibetan art, opened this art museum and research library in New York. The tiny museum, housed in a recreated Himalayan monastery, is surrounded by terraced gardens full of leafy groves and lotus ponds, with one corner reserved for those engaged in serious mediation—the Dalai Lama himself once paid a visit. The rest of the garden boasts plenty of cool, shady nooks—all strewn with colorful prayer flags—where you can sit for a while and ponder the way of things yourself.