Sera Jey Ngari Khangtsen
Progressive Buddhist Education Society in Exile
Lecture Tours
 The picture above is from a practice session, below the "live" event... |
Dharma Talks and Sand MandalasA Dharma Talk is a public discourse on Buddhism by a Buddhist teacher.Using ancient texts like Atisha's "Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment", we explain the meaning and comments for the modern world. We also explain and help you with analytical and stabilizing meditations. To view the background of a few of our available Teachers - see the Biography page. The sand mandala is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition which symbolises the transitory nature of things. The word mandala derives from the Tibetan word kyilkhor, kyil meaning "center" and khor meaning "fringe." As part of the Buddhist canon, all things material are seen as transitory. |
 |
This transitory nature is examplified in that once the mandala has been built and its accompanying ceremonies performed, it is systematically destroyed. The mandala sand painting process begins with an opening ceremony, during which the lamas consecrate the site and call forth the forces of goodness. This is done by means of chanting, music and mantra recitation, and requires approximately half to one full hour. Before laying down the sand, the monks assigned to the project will draw the geometric measurements associated with the mandala. The sand granules are then applied using small tubes, funnels, and scrapers, until the desired pattern is achieved. |
| Sand mandalas traditionally take up to several weeks to build, due to the large amount of work
involved in laying down the sand in such intricate detail. It is common that a team of monks will work together on the project, creating one section of the diagram at a time,
usually working from the center outwards. The destruction of a sand mandala is also highly ceremonial. Even the deity syllables are removed in a specific order, along with the rest of the geometry until at last the mandala has been dismantled. The sand is collected in a jar which is then wrapped in silk and transported to a river (or any place with moving water), where it is released back into nature. For this reason, the materials in a sand mandala are always biodegradable, and, in keeping with the symbolism are never used twice. Lama Dances - ChamTibetan sacred music and dance are not composed in a mundane manner. Rather, each piece was born centuries ago from a mystical visionary experience of a great saint or sage, and has been transmitted from generation to generation in an unbroken oral legacy.The secret ritual dances of the Tibet's Buddhist monks are part of an elaborate and intensive ritual initiation that lasts anywhere from one day up to two weeks. The dances are performed for deep emotional, psychic, and spiritual purification. They are mysterious, as although we are able to observe the form of the dance, we are unable to see the deep spiritual cleansing that is occurring for the practitioner. However, an enormous sense of peace and quiet can overcome the spectator. Usually the dances are performed just before the Tibetan New Year (February) - Losar - to cleanse away obstacles and prepare for the new coming year. The obstacles in Tibet were thought of as natural disasters (land slides, heavy storms etc). Lama dances are more than ever needed in the time of climate change. |
|
 |
Tibetan Culture and HistoryRecently HH the Dalai Lama when speaking in Ladakh, emphasized the fact that due to the troubles encountered in Tibet - it is even more important that the exile communities in India and elsewhere, practice Buddhism and cultivate the Tibetan heritage.Otherwise there is a grave danger that some of the traditions and knowledge may be lost forever. |
| Our lectures on Tibetan history, cover the very first Dalai Lama to the present, the Tibetan struggle for freedom and life in exile. To request any of the Tours, please either email us at serajeyngarimonks@yahoo.co.in or send us a letter: Office of the Sera Jey Ngari Khangtsen Bylakuppe-571 104 Mysore Dist. Karnataka, India |
|
Donations
Traditionally monks have been dependent on and supported by the families and the community in which they live.
In Exile, this has proven to be very difficult... |
Languages Here you
will be able to find a short summary of this web in a variety of languages: Chinese, German, Italian, French, Swedish and Spanish. |
News Blog This web is
updated on a regular basis, but if you want the latest news with text and pictures of daily life and our projects, see our news blog! |