Thanks for visiting our blog
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.
October 24, 2010 – 5:14 am
Tibetan monks pack community room at LPL
Geshe Tenzin Dhonag poses with 18-month-old J.J. Osendah of Syracuse at the Liverpool Public Library Oct. 21. The word "geshe" is an academic title given to those monks who have successfully completed 20 years of Buddhist philosophical studies.
Sacred chants and laughter spilled out of the Carman Community Room at the Liverpool Public Library the evening of Oct. 21. The sound caused some entering the facility to pause with curiosity at the door but, if they were looking for a seat, they were out of luck.
More than 100 people had already packed the room to hear the seven monks from the Gaden Shartse Monastery located in the Tibetan Refugee Settlement at Mundgod, India.
The monks visited the library to share some of their sacred multiphonic chants with the community and, through a talk and slide show, provide a glimpse into life at the monastery.
The visit was only part of a tour spanning several continents. The monks will be in Central New York through the month of October. “The Sacred Earth and Healing Arts of Tibet” tour is raising money for the education of monks at the monastery, and helping to spread Buddhist teachings.
An anonymous donor made the stop in Liverpool possible.
Jangchub Chophel, the monk who helped present much of the event is originally from Southern California. He gently joked with the audience about the tour’s plans for getting out of the area before winter arrives.
Read More »
September 9, 2010 – 8:32 am
Monks to create meticulous mandala, then destroy it
Red Tornado Art Gallery in Findlay hosts Tibetan monks who created a sand mandala in the gallery last week. The monks are to construct a smaller mandala Thursday in the lobby of the Campus Center at Heidelberg University.
When the Tibetan monks arrived in the area last week, Tamera Rooney of Findlay hosted a reception for them to open The Red Tornado Art Gallery in downtown Findlay.
The monks also constructed a sand mandala Sept. 1 at the gallery. Rooney said the process occupied a large table and took most of the day.
This week, the monks are to construct another mandala from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in the lobby of the Campus Center at Heidelberg University. The public is invited to view its construction. The mandala is to be a smaller version of a typical mandala that takes three to five days to complete. The circle or wheel is intended to represent the universe, and the sand symbolizes the transience of earthly life. The mandala is a form of meditation for its creators.
“At the end of their visit, they’ll deconstruct the sand drawing, scoop up the sand, give a portion of sand to all the people who watch the deconstruction, and they’ll take the remaining sand to a local body of water,” Rooney said. Read More »
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.
