The Beastie Boys' Adam "MCA" Yauch says he is "healthy, strong and hopeful" following an holistic and spiritual trip to Dharamsala, India. In an email message, Yauch assures fans that he's on the path to recovery following a cancer diagnosis in July that forced the cancellation of the rap group's tour and the indefinite postponement of the release of their next album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 1.
During his visit, Yauch writes that he studied for three days with the Dalai Lama and visited nuns who performed a devotional Buddhist "puja" to help him in his healing process.
Yauch underwent surgery in August to remove a cancerous tumor in his left parotid (salivary) gland. Detected early and localized, the tumor did not affect Yauch's vocal chords and the surgery has been deemed "successful." Yauch has also been undergoing radiation treatment.
The Beastie Boys cancelled their tour shortly before they were to headline the first night of the three day festival All Points West on July 31. Fellow Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z stepped into the slot and paid homage to the group, opening with a muscular, passionate assault on the Beasties' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" while Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs devoted "Maps" to Yauch. Coldplay honored the Beasties during their APW set, slipping into a surprising "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)."
Yauch's full statement:
hey all,
so i just got back from dharamsala, india. went over there to see some tibetan doctors, but as it worked out, the Dalai Lama was giving a 3 day teaching, so i was able to attend that as well.
i'm feeling healthy, strong and hopeful that i've beaten this thing, but of course time will tell. i'm taking tibetan medicine and at the recommendation of the tibetan doctors i've been eating a vegan/organic diet, which surprisingly enough was harder to do in india than it is now that i'm back home. here i can just shop for the right food and cook... a lot easier than depending on restaurants.
when i was in india i visited an ani gompa (a nunnery) called jamyang choling. they did a puja (religious ceremony) for me to help me get well. one nun said to me "we do prayers and then you are better." so i've got that going for me, which is nice.
i will put a link to their web site (below) but it doesn't do justice to how amazing it is to actually go there and hang out with them. i sponsor a few nuns at jamyang choling. there are about 125 nuns there now and more keep joining. when i first met them i think there were only 13 and they were living in some abandoned cow sheds. then they bought some land with some donations, and with more donations they started building rooms for housing, classrooms, a prayer hall, 2 stoopas..... they now live on a beautiful complex in this incredibly lush, peaceful patch of land in lower dharamsala. cows walking around, birds singing, they are growing mangoes and bananas, and they have a whole garden where they grow herbs and vegetables.
i asked how many nuns still need sponsorship. they said 50. it's about $350 a year to sponsor a nun if you are interested.
http://www.jamchoebuddhistdialectics.org/
we have not set a new release date for the record yet, but i'm hoping it'll be in the first half of next year. looking forward to that, but in the meantime, i'm just enjoying a little downtime in massachusetts, taking walks in the woods and hanging out with the family.... still doing a little work related to oscilloscope, watching screeners and attending some screenings, but for the most part, just laying low.
if you are interested i'll send out some little updates every now and then on the oscilloscope twitter account.
http://twitter.com/oscopelabs
thanks again for all of the well wishes and prayers, and the letters were great too, brought a smile to my face reading them.
talk to you soon,
yauch
