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My name is Chophel and I am one of the Monks from the Gaden Shartse Tour.
The Tour has been visiting the United States since 1989 to fulfill their mission of helping to spread peace, compassion, and tolerance through cultural exchange, interfaith dialog, and Buddhist teachings. Along the way we are meeting thousands of wonderful friends and thought that it would be a good idea to create a blog to keep in touch as we move about the country.
This is meant to be an interactive site, so please feel free to contribute. We hope that this will help us to build a community based upon compassion, tolerance, and healing.
On our way from Grand Junction to Colorado we had to make a pit stop in Aspen to do an interview on Grassroots Television and meet our new organizer Yva-Marie. She has taken up the torch from our longtime friend and organizer Dennis. He has organized tours for us since our first tour in 1989 but has moved on now to live in Boulder. Still he came back to help find funding and space for a mandala and help Yva-Marie get her feet wet. We are so fortunate to have so many kind people working so hard on our behalf – truly a blessing.
So all went well at the TV station and then we had a wonderful lunch at Yva-Marie’s. It was then that I got the news – in order to get to Colorado Springs in time, we needed to drive over Independence Pass. That’s right – 12,095 feet high with parts of the road only big enough for one vehicle to get through. By the way, I am driving a one ton van full of monks and pulling a cargo trailer. Dennis says “no problem, I will lead the way” and off we went. As we did I saw a sign stating no vehicles longer then 35 feet are allowed. Quickly evaluating the overall length of my van with the trailer as I am trying to keep up with Dennis, I concluded it couldn’t be longer than 34 feet, 10 inches and breathed a sigh of relief while trying to recall a mantra that will help us make it to the top (maybe I will actually measure it one day).
As the pictures indicate below, we did make it! So we had to take a few photos and enjoy the amazing view. While taking pictures (at 12,095 feet, high atop the Rockies) we turn to see someone taking pictures of us – our good friends, benefactors, webhosts, and film makers, Ri and Renee. They have come out to film some of our events as they are making a documentary of the tour. However, they had no idea we would be there (neither did I for that matter) and yet we were all gathered together at this spectacular location. Karma is an interesting thing my friends! Because they were there, you will get to see some of the wonderful pictures they took posted below =).
Our visit to Grand Junction was like old home week. Our organizers, Ray, Peggy and their kids, have hosted the tour for 10 years and their place is like a second home for us on the road.
Our schedule was off to an auspicious start as it was His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s Birthday. We woke up early and Ray and Peggy joined us for a special morning ritual. In the evening we invited the community to celebrate his birthday with us. We had a great turnout, did a special puja, sang happy birthday, and all shared cake and tea afterward.
Of course no visit to Grand Junction can be complete without our visit the Division of Youth Services (adolescents that are locked up). This is always one of our highlights. Our good friend Jeff (a teacher there) always arranges for us to do and presentation and talk for the kids. Then we get to have lunch and visit with them. The kids are so receptive and really love spending time with the monks. On a side note, the facility is really nice and the monks thought it compared to a 5 star hotel back in India. They wondered how much the parents had to pay to send their kids there =).
Our main event was the construction of a Manjushri mandala at the Western Colorado Center for the Arts. This is such an active and special art center. They have so many workshops and activities for the community it was great to see and be a part of. The mandala was sponsored by the kind people at the Earthwise Foundation and our dear friends Ray and Peggy.
All of our evening events were hosted by the Riverside Multicultural Center. The director, Juanita, is a dynamo! She is the force behind the center and has her hands full trying to make sure stays afloat. It is an important part of the community and, with this recession, funding is a challenge. It is a beautiful space and we were able to do all our events there – from talks, to video presentations, to our full stage performance.
All and all, a great week – topped off with the dissolution of the mandala and a “dinner with the monks.” Ray and Peggy hosted a fundraiser dinner and the monks cooked a traditional Tibetan meal featuring momos. Good food and friends.
Grand Junction, Colorado
Tibetan monks create mandalas to represent a dwelling palace. Now, a group of them from the Garden Shartse Monastery, all the way across the world, are on the Western Slope to show off their beautiful art. The monks from India have been working for hours to create the colored sand piece over at the Art Center on 7th Street, and now they are sharing their work with the public for free.
Monk Chophel tells News Channel 5 they love coming to Grand Junction. “The reason we create them here is to just share as educational and cultural exchange another form of art,” he said.
The Earthwise Foundation and the Art Center made the four day visit possible. The monks will host a cultural show and other events through the weekend in the Grand Valley, and you are asked to join in the fun.
