The monks from Gaden Shartse Monastery have departed northwest Ohio after educating many area residents about Buddhist traditions.

The spokesman and translator for the Tibetan monks, Jangchub Chophel, described a typical day at Gaden Shartse Monastery recently.Monasteries are home to men older than 90 and children as young as age 6. Chophel said the children live at the monastery and have lessons in grammar, math and art, as well as philosophy and religion. Although most children come by choice, others are orphans or their families send them to the monastery to get a better education.

Six days a week, monastery residents rise at 5 a.m. for a breakfast of flatbread and tea and report for prayer at 6 a.m. Chophel said the monastery is a noisy place in the morning as the monks chant their prayers. Each monastery has its own cadences for worship. Singers use low tones and produce two or three tones simultaneously.

On their U.S. tour, the monks demonstrated the sound and technique of their poly

phonic throat singing. For public audiences, the chants are sacred with the words disguised to conceal the secret teachings they contain.Chophel said the person praying visualizes paradise while chanting. The monks pray in various postures and use hand movements that imitate those Buddha once used. Vibrations fill the room and affect more than the individual chanter.

During prayers, monks also ring bells, which represent wisdom, and hold a dorje. The latter is a metal implement in the shape of a thunderbolt and represents method. Buddhists believe bringing wisdom and method together promotes enlightenment. More ceremonial rituals incorporate horns, cymbals and gongs and require special garb.

On most days in the monastery, educational activities based on the level of knowledge a person has reached occupy many hours.

Chophel said Buddhist monasteries are the equivalent of universities. Students of all ages are expected to memorize pages of texts and give recitations for “tests.”

As they get older, they meet in smaller groups with teachers. They usually sit on cushions or directly on the floor.

“When you visit the monastery, you don’t see a chair, so we don’t have a word for chair,” Chophel said.

They had to invent a word, which translates to “butt lift.” After lunch, the monks allow time for a nap.

In the evening, a gong summons the men to the debate yard. For three to six hours, they engage in animated debate.

A lunge, stomp of the foot and slap of the hands is used to “send” a question.

Chophel said clapping symbolizes the hand of wisdom meeting the hand of method to summon sentient beings.

After a response, gestures from questioners indicate their opinion of its quality.

“The key to our whole educational system is the debate system,” Chophel said. “It’s not like you can skip your homework. When they debate, they start off one-on-one with another person in your class for about an hour. Then they bring the classes together and your classmates sit around you and you debate.”

Some scholarly monks study a specific topic and debate it for two to five years before reaching the next level. Those who want to be teachers may go to study at other monasteries. A geshe, or doctor of Buddhist theology, must have 20 years of training.

Chophel said knowledge and enlightenment require hard work.

“There are prayers to remove obstacles but they can’t give you knowledge,” he said.

Oral exams take place yearly to determine whether a student can advance to the next level.

At the end of exams, the monks take a week off for picnics and field games.

The Tibetan new year also is a holiday.

Chophel said Monday is their usual day off. Most of the men use that day to do laundry by hand.

During the summer, the temperature can reach 100 degrees during the day and drop to freezing at night. The monasteries have no air conditioning.

Chophel said the monks’ diet varies by region. The Tibetan monasteries, situated on mountainsides, tend to be isolated, so food choices are limited. In Tibet, barley flour and yak products are nutritional staples. Some groups depend on alms or donations for their food. In India, most are

vegetarian, but others do eat meat.

Typically, they do not eat anything after the mid-day meal.

Buddhist women can enter monastic life in a nunnery. Chophel said the women get the same haircut and garments as the men and are educated in the same manner to follow the same “spiritual path.”

Monks and nuns are allowed to have contact with their families, unless the monastery or nunnery is too far away.

Many monasteries accept visitors, but obtaining a permit may take a month.

September 14, 2010 – By MaryAnn Kromer, mkromer@advertiser-tribune.com

Keep in mind we are only halfway to our goal. We still need almost $5000 so please help get the word out. For more info see the “Gaden Shartse School Needs Your Help Post.”  Thank you to all that helped to make this possible.

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Monks make for low-maintenance houseguests.

Grand Junction’s Ray and Peggy Pilcher invited six monks with the Gaden Shartse Monastery to stay in their home during the monks’ stay in Mesa County.

The monks are on a U.S. tour, raising awareness about Buddhism and donations for construction of a hospital to serve their monastery and other villages in southern India.

The monastery originally was built in Tibet, but Chinese occupation decades ago forced the Tibetan monks to flee to India.

The Pilchers, both Buddhists, have opened their home to the Gaden Shartse monks for the past 10 years, showing the monks the compassion synonymous with Buddhism.

Ray Pilcher said he has been interested in Buddhist culture since he was young, and his nearly four dozen trips to China and Tibet through the years only furthered that interest.

On Sunday, during a free presentation at Western Colorado Center for the Arts, the Tibetan monks demonstrated the precision and time that goes into making a mandala, which is believed to help cleanse negativity for those who view it, said monk Jangchub Chophel.

The monks used brightly colored sand made from crushed and dyed Indian quartz to create a symbolic representation of Green Tara’s universe. Green Tara is honored in Buddhist culture for being a female Buddha, showing that women can achieve equality in a male-dominated society.

The mandala construction began Saturday and will finish at 6:30 p.m. today during a Green Tara puja and sweeping up ceremony, in which the monks will distribute some of the blessed sand to those in attendance at the Art Center ceremony at 1803 N. Seventh St.

The remaining sand will be thrown in the Colorado River to float downstream. The cleaning of the mandala signifies nothing in the world is permanent, and understanding change is part of balancing life.

The Buddhist monks will be in Grand Junction until Wednesday. From Grand Junction, they head to Hotchkiss and Moab, Utah, before continuing east across the country, Chophel said.

To learn more about Buddhist culture, to bid on silent auction items Ray Pilcher brought back from Tibet or to see the mandala, visit the Art Center from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. today.

Money donated will be used to build a hospital in southern India.

By MELINDA MAWDSLEY
The Daily Sentinel

With Tibet occupied by China, much of the Tibetan Buddhist population is in exile in India. But this week, a small group of Tibetan Buddhist monks is venturing further afield — to Findlay.

Monks from the Gaden Shartse Monastery are traveling throughout the United States to educate people on Tibetan Buddhism. While in Findlay, they are also performing healing rituals specifically geared toward healing the community from recent flooding.The monks arrived on Tuesday and will stay until this weekend, when they will conclude their tour by creating a sand mandala and ceremonially destroying it, carrying the sand to the Blanchard River.

Findlay is part of a 10-month tour throughout the United States. Everywhere, they have been made welcome, said monk Chophel, who goes by one name.

The Gaden Shartse monastery is located in Mundgod, India but the monks travel throughout the world to share Buddhist teachings.

“It’s kind of like dharma on wheels,” Chophel said.

Monk Lobsang Wangchuk, said there is greater curiosity about Buddhism and greater welcoming of their message now than in years past. The monks have seen attendance go up at their events, for example.

The monks (also called lamas) are raising funds to furnish a hospital to provide free medical care in the region of their monastery. They raised funds to build the hospital on a previous tour.

Through an interpreter, Geshe Jampa Norbu, one of the lamas in the group, said the most common question they receive from Americans is their feelings about Tibet and, recently, the Beijing Olympics. Norbu said they did not advise boycotting the Olympics.

Since China invaded Tibet more than 50 years ago, much of the Tibetan culture has survived only in exile in India, Chophel said.

“In Tibet we can’t even study the Tibetan language,” he said. “You have to do that in secret.”

Peace is a central tenet of the Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, Wangchuk said. For example, the Tibetan people do not want to fight the Chinese occupation, believing that “if you harm other beings it creates more anger, more hatred.”

Buddhism includes a belief in reincarnation, and Buddhists believe that if you take up violence in this life you are likely to be reborn into a life of violence and war in your next life, Wangchuk said.

Wangchuk said the Dalai Lama, the head of state and spiritual leader of Tibet, is “probably the foremost spokesman” for world peace.

He said the approach is “the Tibetan people, waiting patiently over 50 years for the return of their country, and not striking back.”

Tenzin Lobsang, the monk who serves as the group’s interpreter, said the monks are hoping for increased human rights for the Tibetan people, including the right to practice their religion freely. Chophel said the Dalai Lama accepts that China has taken over Tibet but wants “greater autonomy” for the Tibetan people.

This weekend the monks will build a “medicine Buddha” mandala. A mandala is a design signifying the universe. Building a sand mandala can take anywhere from a day to 10 days, Wangchuk said. The purpose of the project is to provide healing from the floods that have afflicted Findlay. Wangchuk said this will remove people’s inner turmoil over the flood as well as healing the environment. In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, there are many spirits responsible for nature and the weather, beings that don’t have names in English, Wangchuk said.

“There are elementary spirits that live in nature that can affect the weather,” he said.

Norbu said the monks will be praying for an end to flooding. Their religion also focuses on care for the environment, and they will be spreading the word not to destroy forests or pollute water, he said.

While in Findlay the monks are also performing private healings. Wangchuk described this as a process in which the lama removes a person’s negative energies and “transforms them into inexhaustible bliss.”

This year for the first time, the monks are working with Century Health mental health clients. Gary Bright of Century Health said the organization has been providing counseling to flood survivors, and the monks’ focus on healing seemed a good match.

The tour has visited Findlay in the past. Area couple Phil Sugden and Carole Elchert met Wangchuk in California and learned that his mother lives in Findlay. They made arrangements for the monks to come to Findlay, and they’ve been here every three years or so since then.

Chophel said the monks are usually hosted by American Buddhists. While there are some cities in America that have large Buddhist centers, the monks prefer to visit communities that may have just a few Buddhists, in order to offer support and education.

“They don’t have this opportunity very often,” he said.

The monks frequently speak at Christian churches throughout the United States. While in Findlay, they led a healing event at the First Presbyterian Church on Tuesday. They will speak at the Unitarian Universalist Church tonight.

Wangchuk said there is a lot of common ground between Christianity and Buddhism.

“Every religion wants peace and happiness,” he said.

The monks will be speaking tonight on “Compassionate Practices of Buddhism” at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2415 Suite B, N. Main St. from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. A $10 donation is suggested.

The monks will create the sacred sand mandala Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Findlay Municipal Building. The public is welcome.

At 1 p.m. Sunday, there will be a ceremonial destruction of the mandala and all in attendance will be invited to proceed to the Blanchard River where the sand will be placed as an offering to purify the surrounding environment.

Original Article

LIMA – Tapping a sand-filled metal cone, the Tibetan monks created what some would consider a masterpiece worthy of keeping forever.

But that’s not their way. In most cases, even those creations taking weeks to make, are swept away; a reminder of Buddha’s last words that nothing is permanent.

“We forget that every single moment that we live, even in a snap of a finger things can change,” Jangchub Chophel said Wednesday. “We are very precious to have this moment in time and this life and to make good use of it.”

Jangchub Chophel and other Tibetan monks and lamas from Gaden Shartse Monastery in southern India spent time at Bluffton University on Wednesday, introducing people to sand mandalas, or monastic sand painting.

Seen as a pathway to inner peace and compassion, mandalas are used for healing purposes. Some can be as large as nine feet in diameter and take up to 26 days to complete. Working on one can be a very powerful and spiritual experience, Jangchub Chophel said.

“It can actually remove negativities, heal the area and environment and bring the blessings of Buddha to the area,” he said. “We sweep it up and usually put the sand in a body of water so that blessings and purifications continue to heal.”

The monks’ tour in the United States is twofold. One is to raise money to furnish a hospital at the monastery. The last tour helped pay for the hospital, which cares for and offers free medicine to 6,000 monks, 300 nuns, 6,000 Tibetan laypeople and whoever else needs it.

“Free medicine and checkups to anyone. We get no international aid. We have to take care of ourselves,” said Lobsang Wangchuk, whose mother lives in Findlay.

The second purpose, Tenzin Lobsang said, is to teach people “how to control their minds from negativities.” The negativities might be desire, ignorance, anger and doubt.

“Here in United States, everything is not perfect,” he said. “Many people have mind problems. We are teaching them what causes suffering and what causes happiness.”

The monks say the most important of their teachings is kindness, compassion and tolerance. Jangchub Chophel, who became a monk three years ago, reminds that “we are all in this together,” saying that it benefits him when others are happy.

The monastery houses Tibetan refugees and works to rebuild Tibet through education and acts of nonviolent resistance. New monks arrive often in exile from Communist Chinese-controlled Tibet. Despite the Chinese occupation, Tenzin Lobsang said Tibetans wish no harm on China.

“From our side, we never harm other human beings,” he said. “The Chinese are always one of the living beings. We are never taught to harm the Chinese people. … The Dalai Lama wants to have a dialogue for the truth.”

Original Article

This was a great day. We got to visit the Victory Center and do a blessing there. These people are dedicated to providing a wide range of support services to people going through cancer treatment. Everyone we met there was clearly passionate about their own personal commitment to truly help meet the needs of their clients. After the blessing they provided lunch and we got to spent some quality time with them. Once again, the precious Tina funded this special event. Thank you so much Tina for all your help.

This being our last night, the organizers came over for a final farewell.  We would like to thank them for all their, time, energy, kindness, and generosity.  Thank you so much Paula, Tina, Michael, Robert, Ben, Rhonda, and Matty for helping make our visit to Toldeo so successful in raising funds for our monastery.

September 14th – We had a nice break today went up to Robert’s house for a bar-b-que. He, his wife Stephanie, and their children (Nicholas and Maya), live out in the country. They have a great house built by Stephanie’s grandfather right on Otter Creek in Michigan. We meet many new friends, had great food, did a house blessing, then we were off to Tobie and Bob’s. By now it was pouring rain as we found our way to Tobie and Bob’s. Once there we found a warm and wonderful home filled with great people to greet us. We did a house blessing, had a great meal, and spent a couple of hours telling stories and playing with the children. The time flew by before we knew it as we had such a great time.

September 13th – Today we are at the Mercy Cancer Center at St. Anne’s creating a one day sand mandala of the Medicine Buddha to bless this new center.

We are in today’s newspaper, click on this link – Monk’s on the road for peace.

September 12, 2008 – After a day of personal healings, the group headed over to the Integration Yoga Center to conduct a Chenrezig Empowerment. Jenn McCullough was kind enough to open up her studio to us and the place was quickly packed. It turned out to be just the right size to fit everyone.

September 11, 2008 – Once again we find ourselves in a wonderful home experiencing the kindness of strangers. This time our new friend Ben and his son Matty were kind enough to open up their home to us. His friend Rhonda has also come to the rescue to help make sure all are happy and comfortable. Ben has an amazing home in Maumee right on the Maumee river. The backyard leads through a little forrest and then to the river. Every morning and evening we are able to see deer wandering through the yard. They are very tame and will even let you get within 5 feet.

Last night Ben and Rhonda hosted a dinner with the monks and we met quite a few new friends. Venerable Lobsang held court in the living room with all gathered around as he entertained them with numerous stories that lasted into the night. Ben also had a bonfire in the backyard where we toasted marshmellows.

Today we visited to colleges – Owens Community College and University of Toledo. At both schools we did cultural presentations and answers questions from the students. All were very engaged and asked great questions.

Tonight we did a lecture on world peace and the unity of all religions. This is an excellent topic on the anniversary of September 11. Geshe Norbu and Venerable Lobsang gave a great talk and we had an impressive turnout. I was so happy to see so many people coming out to share in a discussion about world peace and unity. Some even brought their children. We also had visitors all the way from Norman, Oklahoma – our dear friends Wiley and Marial. They flew up to spend some time with us and take part in our schedule of events.

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One special treat we had was a visit to the world famous vapor caves. Our organizer Patsy opened the caves for us an hour before the normal operating hours and we got to spend a much needed healing hour resting and sweating in those amazing caves. We also got to do a house at Tera’s special home with a family of Lakota Native Americans. They were very special people and even played their family drum for us. Another interesting time was blessing the Good Health Store. We were just in the middle of one of their isles and about 30 customers joined us on the floor as we did the blessing – right there on isle 5 =). It was great – others just shopped as did our thing. We also had the good fortune to bless the La Provence Spa under the Hotel Colorado. They are a great family and it was a pleasure to spend time with them. Unfortunately I don’t have many pictures to post just yet. David was taking all the pictures and will send them to me. I post them as soon I get them.

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This was our second visit to Yachats on this tour and we were thrilled to be back again so soon. Our precious organizers Ri and Renee put together a great schedule of events starting with a screening of the film Dalai Lama Renaissance. They received permission for us to show it from the producer/director Khashyar Darvich in order to help our monastery. Khashyar has been kind enough to let us continue to show it as we travel throughout the tour. Our main event was creating a sand mandala of the Buddha of Compassion at the Green Salmon. By the way, some of the best coffee in the world! He roasts it himself and people were driving from 40 miles away to get some. We also did a Medicine Buddha empowerment, Vajravidaran healing, a Chay Drol ritual, and a question and answer night. So we were kept pretty busy. In addition to all the kindness of Ri and Renee (by the way, they are also hosting this blog for us), Precious Claire came down to help us out and we meet a new organizer, Colette, who was brave enough to take up the task of bringing us to Moab. More on that in the Moab post later.

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