Wednesday, August 25, 1999
Buddhist monks perform for world peace
BY CAROL NORRIS
Enquirer contributor
Mention Buddhist monks and images of men chanting in solemn rituals or praying reverently comes to mind.
Dancing usually isn't part of the picture. Yet maroon-and-saffron robed monks' dance is creative, entertaining and true to their sacred traditions.
In the midst of a world peace tour, 13 Drikung Kagyu monks will be in Cincinnati today through Sunday to demonstrate rituals used in healing. Friday and Sunday, they will perform The Mystical Music and Dance of Tibet at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
With the blessing of the Dalai Lama, the tour was organized in an effort to raise public awareness of the Tibetans' struggle to preserve their culture. The troupe of religious men based in northern India, one of four major Buddhist denominations worldwide, delivers a message of peace and non-violence.
“It's a good experience for people who don't normally have access to this kind of culture,” says Tashi Jamyangling, tour organizer and translator. “If nothing else, people learn what life is like beyond their own horizon,”
The presentations are colorful, and the chantings are melodious and soothing, he says. In their dances, however, the mood can turn stormy and passionate.
Beginning with an invocation to Achi (grandmother), the performance unfolds to the rhythms and unusual sounds of Tibetan sacred music, played on an exotic mix of musical instruments. There are flutes and horns as long as minivans and as short as trumpets. Percussionists pound away on cymbals, gongs, drums, bells and an occasional conch shell.
Monks in elaborate, brocaded robes don deer or buffalo masks as they enact specific roles in dances they've practiced for years.
The movements are specific, with every hand gesture and tilt of the head significant in its meaning. The men must first audition for a dance master, and if they pass muster are then allowed to learn a particular role.
In “Mahakala,” a dancer appears in a fearsome, fanged mask and performs movements meant to subdue negative energies.
Even with the inclusion of monstrous head pieces, Mr. Jamyangling says the material is calming and intoxicating. Audiences are encouraged to relax and lose themselves in the experience and the power of meditation. The sacred monastic sounds and visuals are meant to generate positive energies in performers as well as those watching.
“As a people we are totally peace-loving and benign. Because of that and the messages of the Dalai Lama, people receive us warmly wherever we go,” he says.
If you go: 'Mystical Music and Dance of Tibet'
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