Sand Mandala |
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Goal & Highlights Brief History and Description The Legend of Milarepa The Performance Pujas In The Press Multimedia Gallery Tour & Other
Information Friends of the Drepung Gomang
Monastery |
Friends
of Drepung Gomang Monastery Plan for
Corporate Giving Goal: To secure funds enabling the touring Tibetan Buddhist Monks from Drepung Gomang Monastery provide uplifting programs and healing prayers at limited budget facilities.
Purpose:
To
provide children, especially those without a strong, nurturing family
home life, access to the emotionally healing compassion, acceptance, joy
and unconditional love of the touring Tibetan Buddhist Monks Target
Group: Public school systems and
hospitals in low income neighborhoods, state and private facilities for
abused, neglected and orphaned children, and other facilities which are
home to disenfranchised populations. Background:
In recent years the Tibetan
Buddhist Monasteries in India, (exiled from their homeland in Communist
China occupied Tibet), have been sending touring groups of monks to the
west to raise funds for operating and expanding their housing,
educational, medical and meal providing facilities.
This is necessary as refugees and orphans continue to stream into
these monastic universities as they escape from China. Donations to the monasteries are given in exchange for
Tibetan cultural performances, the creation of Tibetan art, (the
beautiful and intricate sand mandalas, or sand paintings), and the
recitation of Tibetan Buddhist prayers for healing, happiness and world
peace, in the famous “overtone” chanting to the accompaniment of
drums, symbols, horns and flutes. As
the monasteries themselves are in desperate need of funds for basic
supplies, and the expenses of traveling in the U.S. are so high, they
rarely have opportunity to provide their immensely healing programs and
spread compassion in the U.S. where it potentially could have the most
transforming and uplifting benefit: facilities for abused and neglected
children or other institutions with desperately disadvantaged
populations. Proposal:
$1000 is a typical donation to
the monastery for a single program of up to 2-3 hours which could
include excerpts from the cultural performance, (2 monks dressed in a
snow lion costume performing a dance for example), prayers for healing
and peace accompanied by instruments, discussion about Tibetan culture,
life in the monastery, or the monks personal stories of their harrowing
three month escapes from China through the snow covered Himalayas.
One of the monks escaped at age fourteen.
$3500 is a typical
donation for the creation of healing and mystical sacred sand mandala.
The mandala requires the concentrated work of four monks for four
days to complete. Prayers
are chanted before the beginning of the construction and prior to the
dissolution of this sacred work of art.
The creation of a sand mandala at a facility would enable the
monks to be present among the population for four days, and to model
joyful, peaceful, dedicated commitment to completion of a project.
Once completed, the sand painting is usually swept up and offered
into a body of water – a powerful lesson in non-attachment.
Mandalas may be preserved at the request of the sponsor, though
this is not traditional.
At either the single program or the four-day sand mandala construction,
the 10 visiting monks share a meal, (or meals), with the residents,
provided by the facility. This is valuable personal time for the
children and the monks, who freely give unlimited attention, nurturing
and compassion in such a way that even average western adults experience
great happiness and joy. |
Every dollar contributed to this effort will perform charitable works twice: First, providing disadvantaged youngsters, or adults an uplifting, joyful, educational and inspiring program of Tibetan Buddhist culture and healing prayers. Second, providing much needed funds for basic educational, medical, housing and feeding expenses in the Drepung Gomang Monastic University, currently relocated in South India, caring for an ever-increasing population of Tibetan monks living in exile, some as young as six years old or orphaned as infants. With your help, Friends of Drepung Gomang Monastery, (A501©3 incorporated under U.S. Federal Statute), would like to bring the Gomang monks to facilities for children, seniors and any population who would appreciate and benefit from their events, and who otherwise might not have the opportunity. All facilities we approach will be requested to provide matching funds if they have their own sponsors available, so that your contribution can go twice as far. Facilities unable to provide matching funds will still receive a full program of events as per your contribution. Facilities we are approaching to offer programs with the monks under this project include, but are not limited to: Salem
Children’s Village
We
welcome your suggestions and guidance for additional worthy facilities.
From July 2000 – July 2001, the Gomang Monastery monks will be
touring the entire east coast, midwest, southwest, California and the
northwest. Janaki Pierson Friends
of Drepung Gomang Monaster janaki1@juno.com
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