TIBETAN MONKS VISIT
Eight monks and a driver from Drepung Gomang Monastery share their culture
“Om mani padme hum.”
The chant, in its simplest form, means you, too, can obtain enlightenment, according to information about the Sacred Art Tour of Tibetan Monks’ June 13 to 18 visit to the Yoga Tree at the Pennridge Wellness Center in Blooming Glen.
Eight monks and one driver are in the group from Drepung Gomang Monastery, said Ken Bell, at whose Telford home the nine stayed during the local visit.
Three of the monks are geshes, he said.
“A geshe is a very high-ranking monk,” Bell said.
It takes 16 years of study to reach that level, he said. The leader of the group is a lharmpa,
“They come to share their culture, to bring light to the plight of Tibet and to raise money for the monastery.” — Ken Bell of Telford
which takes 22 to 24 years of study, Bell said. The monks on the tour who are not yet geshes are nearing that level, having studied for 14 or 15 years, he said.
The focus of the studies at the monastery’s university, where the monks receive a free education, are science, philosophy and religion, he said.
“There’s 2,000 monks in the monastery,” Bell said.
The tour has three main purposes, he said.
“They come to share their culture, to bring light to the plight of Tibet and to raise money for the monastery,” Bell said.
Tibetan crafts made by monks at the Buddhist
monastery are on display and available to be purchased throughout the visit.
This is the first time the monks have been at Yoga Tree, Claudine Schuster, Yoga Tree’s office manager, said.
“We’re honored to have them,” she said shortly before the June 13 opening prayers and ceremony. Following the ceremony, which included chants, the group began work on a sand mandala artwork that would be constructed during the week.
Information about the monks’ visit, including a schedule of activities and when public viewing of the mandala work is available, is at yogatreepwc.com.
Schuster said she had never seen the progression of a mandala, so she was excited to be able to get the chance.
“They do it one granule at a time,” she said.
Bell said the monks asked him what theme he would like to have for the mandala and he chose a mandala of compassion.
“The purpose of the Sacred Art Tour is to share and preserve Tibetan culture, which overflows with spiritually artistic expression. The monks bring teachings of ancient ways and beliefs that do, even now, create the possibility of global peace, non-violent conflict resolution, compassion and wisdom with their sacred traditions through living art, ritual, dance and prayer,” Yoga Tree information said. “This tour lets us experience, now, a future that is without violence; with worldwide compassion and full of the wisdom of open hearts that places the highest appreciation on the value of our ever connected differences.”
A potluck meet and greet with the monks, for which participants were asked to bring a vegetarian dish, was scheduled for the evening of June 13.
A workshop, during which the monks teach the students how to write “Om mani padme hum” in Tibetan, was scheduled for June 14. A sand painting workshop was scheduled for June 15. Closing ceremonies and procession to a body of water were scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Sunday, June 18.