Sponsored by:
Office of the Vice Chancellor Student Affairs, Department of History, Center for Asian Studies, Undergraduate Program in Global Cultures and The Buddhist Association at UCI

Contacts:
Bibi Do
Buddhist Association

www.Live-Kind.com

Monks from Thubten Dhargye Ling center in Long Beach try to catch a glimpse of the Dalai Lama when he arrives at UC Santa Barbara.

‘This crisis is good,’ Tibetan leader says, because it reminds people that money has limitations. He also speaks about arcane aspects of Buddhist history and philosophy.

Reporting from Santa Barbara — The Dalai Lama, in a ringing denunciation, declared Friday that the ailing global economy is the result of “too much greed, and lies and hypocrisy.”

“These are some of the factors behind the global crisis,” he said at a news conference at UC Santa Barbara. “Those people who feel that money is the most important thing in life, when economic crisis hits, learn that it is only one way to be happy. There is also family, friends and peace of mind.”

“Therefore, this crisis is good,” he added with a laugh, “because it reminds people who only want to see money grow and grow that there are limitations.”

The Dalai Lama’s remarks followed the first of two sold-out public lectures in the university events center Friday on “the nature of mind.” That discourse, delivered from an ornate wooden couch with ocher robes draped over his bony shoulders and with his legs folded beneath him, drew an audience of 4,800 people.

Tickets, which had sold out within two hours, ranged in price from $20 to $40. Scalpers fetched up to $600 per ticket, university officials said.

In his characteristic self-effacing manner, the 74-year-old leader of Tibet’s government-in-exile began by apologizing for a serious cold that had him frequently pausing to clear his throat or blow his nose. Midway through the talk, he began speaking for up to 15 minutes at a stretch in Tibetan about arcane aspects of Buddhist history and philosophy, leaving his assistant to translate for fans. Advanced students of Buddhist philosophy leaned forward in their seats, hanging on every word. Many others, however, began fidgeting or heading off to the restrooms. Some people snoozed.

Joyce Tapper, 74, of Van Nuys took it all in stride.

“It’s amazing that he pushes ahead despite little things like a cold and big things like the condition of his homeland,” she said. “Just being in the room with him lifted me to a higher place, even if I didn’t get it.”

Then there was Melanie Strickland, 48, a substitute teacher from the Joshua Tree area. Moments after the Dalai Lama left the stage, she was reciting large portions of the teachings — nearly verbatim — over her cellphone to a friend.

“The key is to rise above thoughts of pain and anger,” she told her friend, “and focus on the here and now between those thoughts. See?”

It was the Dalai Lama’s fourth visit to this prosperous seaside community, which prepared for his appearance with four weeks of social gatherings, public talks by local scholars and Buddhist-oriented art exhibits, including an elaborate sand mandala under construction by 10 monks. On Friday night, the California-based Global Institute for Tibetan Medicine hosted a reception in honor of Gyalo Thondup, older brother of the Dalai Lama.

UC Santa Barbara became a leading center of Buddhist and Tibetan studies after the Dalai Lama’s first visit there in 1984. He was invited to return this week by Jose Cabezon, the first occupant of the university’s XIV Dalai Lama chair in Tibetan studies.

The invitation was made “quite a while ago because the Dalai Lama books his appearances about seven years in advance,” Cabezon said. “Finally, our number came up and he flew here direct from his headquarters in India.”

“We are institution unusual in its support and admiration for the Dalai Lama,” said Eva Haller, a longtime trustee of the UC Santa Barbara Foundation. “He knows that, and feels at home here.”

louis.sahagun@latimes.com
By Louis Sahagun
April 25, 2009

[View with PicLens]

I have some pictures I am posting from our visit. We created a sand mandala at the Harvard Divinity School’s Center for the Study of World Religions  We were hosted by our good friends Jangchub Nyima, his wife Tenzin Palmo, and their two adorable children. They are very kind and special people. We felt as though we really at home.  If I have internet access at our next stop tomorrow night (Elkhart, IN) I will right more. We have some stories!

[View with PicLens]

123►

Everyone knows what art is.

It hangs in galleries, behind velvet ropes and in ornate frames, for aficionados to enjoy for generations to come.

Sure, that’s the way you learned it in school: da Vinci and Rembrandt, Manet and Monet, van Gogh and van Dyck. Art for the ages.

But what about that dragon you drew in fourth grade? That was art, at least until your mother took it off the refrigerator and tossed it into the trash.

More specifically, that was disposable art, even though you didn’t intend it to be temporary.

Some artists do. To them, art is for the moment, not for posterity.

You see and hear temporary art in a variety of places, be it a spray-painted graffito that will be glossed over by the public works department, or a couple of guys playing guitar without a tape recorder running.

You even smell and taste it: Master chefs create culinary masterpieces, knowing full well that they’ll end up in a series of stomachs.

Sometimes art reaches none of the senses. The late composer John Cage wrote a piece called “4′33,” which is literally four minutes and 33 seconds of silence.

In the opinion of many a layman, that’s the definition of disposable.

Temporary art can touch a spiritual side. Washington & Jefferson College recently hosted a group of Buddhist monks from the Gaden Shartse Monastery in India, men who spent four days working on a mandala, an intricately detailed sculpture of sand.

Then they swept it all away.

One of the monks, Jangchub Chopel, explained the ancient practice as a lesson in the temporary nature of life.

“We’re going to dissolve the mandala,” Chopel said in mid-project. “This means we’ll have a very large ceremony. We’ll bring the blessings of the Buddha of Compassion present, and at the end we’ll symbolically take parts of the sand and put it in a special container, to make sure it lives on.”

The closing ceremony drew a healthy crowd to W&J’s Olin Fine Arts Center, to at least take photos and videos of the sand mandala before it was relegated to oblivion. Then came the brushes: ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Or more accurately in this case, ground quartz to ground quartz.

Speaking of pulverized minerals, chalk serves as a fairly popular instrument for temporary art. Give a youngster a box of multicolored Crayolas, send him out to the sidewalk and watch him go.

But sidewalk chalk is not necessarily kids’ stuff. Pittsburgh artist Conrad Quesen is among those who will take to the streets, painstakingly sketching creations that soon will disappear.

He also works in more traditional media, but he views that as somewhat disposable, too: “Once you sell a painting, it’s gone anyway,” he said after finishing a chalk mural in the middle of Shadyside’s Ellsworth Avenue.

Perhaps Vincent van Gogh entertained similar thoughts as he took a blade to his ear.

His paintings might be here to stay in galleries around the world, but permanence is by no means a prerequisite for creating art.

The Observer-Reporter

After our visit to the Cleveland area, we made the beautiful drive to Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA. The trees are changing to their Autum colors with brillant shades of red, orange, brown, and everything in between. This part of the country is also the home of many Amish communities and it is common to see them traveling the roads in their horse drawn buggies. What pleasant sights to behold as we travel! This is a great time to be here in the East.

Matt Snyder of the Herald newspaper did a great article on our visit.  Here is the the link, it is two pages so look for the “next page” link at the bottom of the first page – Monk’s revisit Westminister.

We were brought to Westminster College through the vision of Dr. Bryan Rennie and the kindness of Dr. David Goldberg and his wonderful daughter Natasha. Both Dr. Rennie and Dr. Goldberg are dedicated professors, constantly striving to expose the students to a wide range of cultures, philosophies and perspectives of the world. With this in mind, they made sure to have us spend as much time in their classrooms as possible.

Our main event was the creation of a Chenrezig sand mandala that started on Monday and was dissolved on Thursday evening. The monks did another great job and you can see pictures below. In the evenings we did Dharma talks and a Vajravidaran Healing Ritual. All were well attended and we had a great time. We even had some friends from the Cleveland area show up – Ken and Amy =).

One night, after leaving the monks alone, I was driving back to our house and saw them all walking down the road in white t-shirts and huge grins on their faces. It was late at night and I thought this looked a little weird to say the least. It turns out that the wandered down to see the soccer team play and managed to become the halftime show! Not by chanting as you might imagine, but by trying to hit the crossbar of the goal with the soccer ball. As it turns out none of them quite made it, but as a consolation prize they all received soccer t-shirts from the team. You never know what is going to happen on this journey.

[View with PicLens]

12►

By tonight the mandala will be swept up, and the sand dissolved into the Colorado River.

The monks will begin a sweeping up prayer ceremony at 6:30 p.m. at the Art Center, 1803 N. Seventh St., followed by a release of the sand into the Colorado River from Eagle Rim Park on Orchard Mesa.

Every few years, monks from Gaden Shartse Monastery in India tour the United States to share their culture and religion, and raise money to support their Tibetan Buddhist monastery.

The Gaden Shartse Monastic College was originally founded in Tibet in the 15th century. After China invaded the country in 1959, thousands of Tibetan cultural and religious centers were destroyed and many Tibetans fled to India, where the Indian government donated land to establish a monastery there.

The monks create sand mandalas twice a year at the monastery to symbolize Buddhism’s different deities. The Green Tara mandala being created at the Art Center is representative of the celestial home of the Buddha of activities, said Jangchup Chophel, an American monk and member of the monastery.

“As we create it we keep in mind the teachings of the benefits and sacred nature of this Buddha,” Chophel said. “Just by looking at it people receive vast amounts of benefit, positive imprints in their consciousness and mind.”

The monks meticulously create the mandala by scooping sand into two hollow cones and rubbing one on top of the other, carefully guiding the amount of sand released from a small hole in the cone.

Once the mandala is completed, it is dissolved quickly, within half an hour.

The dissolution ceremony is important, Chophel said.

“At the ceremony we invite the Green Tara along with her entourage — the celestial beings associated with her — to inhabit the mandala to help purify all the negativities of the area.”

Chophel has practiced Buddhism for many years and became an ordained monk three years ago. He taught high school history in Long Beach, Calif., from 2001 through 2008; he wore the traditional crimson monk robes for the past three years.

Chophel retired from teaching in July to join the monastery and direct the U.S. tour. His high school students continue to keep in touch with him via texting.

Ninety-five percent of the 1,500 monks who live in the monastery are from Tibet, said Tenzin Losang, one of the monks currently in Grand Junction. Some were born in India, but are of Tibetan heritage.

Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen, one of the last lamas remaining who was born and trained in Tibet, runs a Buddhist Center in Long Beach. He sponsors the monks to come to the United States in order to raise money to fund its monastery in India.

Peggy and Ray Pilcher of Grand Junction met the monks 11 years ago, when they were touring here. The Pilchers host the monks in their home whenever they visit Grand Junction. The Pilchers are among a group of local Buddhists who study with Gyeltsen.

The monks of Gaden Shartse Monastery travel to where they are invited and offered a place to stay, and a place to build the mandalas. The mandala being created in Grand Junction is sponsored by the Art Center and Bank of the West.

In Oregon, the monks created a mandala at a coffee shop in the hub of town.

In Glenwood Springs, they used meeting rooms in the Hotel Colorado.

Last week the group was in Aspen, where they created a mandala at a downtown art gallery.

The intention of this tour is to raise funds for the construction of a hospital near the monastery in southern India.

The hospital is for other refugees, lay people and Indians, as well as for the monks of the monastery, Chophel said.

“It’s open to all for free medical care,” he said.

The monks will be in Grand Junction for two more days. They will conduct a Green Tara Empowerment ceremony Tuesday at the Academy of Yoga at 8 p.m.

A dinner is planned with the monks at the Art Center on Wednesday. A limited number of tickets are available.

Tibetan astrology sessions, personal healings, house and business blessings are also being offered through Wednesday.

Grand Junction Free Press

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

Our first stop was at the Blanchard Valley Hospital. The hospital hosted us to lunch and gave us a tour their incredible facility. It is truly a state of the art hospital with all the technology and a kind and nurturing staff. It really showed that these people care.

Next we were off to our new home for the next three days – A Boy Scout Camp called Camp Berry. We got to stay in a big lodge with a huge fireplace surrounded by woods. There was even a bed for every monk!

Day two included a trip to Bluffton University. This is a Mennonite university with an emphasis on peace. Throughout the campus they have many monuments to peace. We received a tour of the Lion and the Lamb Peace Center and visited with a group there. Then we were off to the Art Department to do a sand mandala demonstration. After the demonstration we were treated to lunch with the students. Here are a couple of articles about our visit:

The Lima News

The Findlay Courier

Later that night we hosted an “Evening with the Monks” out at Camp Berry. People came from up to an hour away. We built a big fire and sat around in a circle sharing stories and answering questions about Buddhism and Tibet for hours. It was quite nice.

On Thursday evening we were invited to speak at the Unitarian Church. The place filled up and the people were great – asking many questions and very engaged. Venerable Geshe Norbu gave a wonderful talk on the “Compassionate Practices of Buddhism.”

Over the weekend we worked on a sand mandala at the Findlay Municipal Building. This was sponsored to help Findlay heal from a devastating flood they are recovering from. We worked on it throughout the day on Saturday and put the finishing touches to it on Sunday morning. The dissolution of took place at 1:00 in the afternoon. The Mayor, along with a large group from the community came out and even walked with us down Main Street to put the sand in the river. Everything went well and we even got a special surprise when Tina, Michael, and Robert showed up from Toledo.

In addition thanking our organizers for all their efforts on our behalf we would like to give a special thanks to:

Carole – for those amazing walks down by the reservoir.

Phil – motoring us all over town and your wonderful banter.

Gary – your kindness and gentle spirit.

Tamera – for sharing your house and humor.

Margaret – for sharing your house and your son (Lobsang) with us.

Eric and Diana – for the monks on ATV experience.

[View with PicLens]

12345►

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.

[View with PicLens]

1234►

We pulled into Sioux City in the evening after a long drive across the state of Nebraska (a lot of wind and corn!) and arrived at the welcoming home of our precious host and organizers, the Nooney family. They have a great old brick home, 4 wonderful kids, 3 cats, 1 dog, and now 7 monks.

Our main event is the creation of a Tara Sand Mandala at Morningside College. We are very grateful to Ibu Nooney of Tara House who wrote the grant to fund the mandala from the Iowa Arts Council. as well as John Bowitz, the head of the Art Department at Morningside College, for their help in bringing the mandala to Sioux City.

Here is a video of news coverage of our visit

[View with PicLens]

1234►