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WOMADELAIDE 2001
program highlights
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Gyuto Monks of Tibet (Australia) |
| From the Gyuto Tantric
University in Northern India, the Tibetan Buddhist monks have been visiting
Australia since 1994, sharing their 2500 year old sacred culture of Tibet
so rich in art, philosophy and spiritual awareness, yet currently in danger
of extinction. The Gyuto Monks are world famous for their unique
form of harmonic chanting and for their mastery of the tantric arts including
beautiful six foot diameter Sand Mandalas and twelve foot high Butter Sculptures.
It is their sound which features on the recent Tibetan film soundtracks
including Seven Years in Tibet and Kundun. They regularly fill Carnegie
Hall in New York and have chanted in Parliament House, Canberra, the National
Gallery of Victoria, the SA museum and a host of other venues. They
also play an active role in school and community projects. When asked
what it is about these simple Tibetan monks that draws people like a magnet
across geographic, social, economic and spiritual boundaries, tour organizer,
Maureen Fallon says, “I think it’s being touched by an experience of pure
love. The monks practice loving kindness and compassion and it shows…”
At WOMADELAIDE 2001, the Gyuto Monks will not only chant and meditate,
but also create the inner wheel of the beautiful sand mandala of Yamantaka
– the protector of life and conqueror of our fear of death. Made
from richly colored ground marble all the way from the Himalayas, it is
poured grain by grain until the 500 year old design is complete.
At the end of the weekend, the mandala is dissolved and swept away. |
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