10/2/2002
Contact: K.E. Schwab -- 724-738-2199; e-mail:
karl.schwab@sru.edu
BUDDHIST MONKS TO EXPLAIN MYSTIQUE OF TIBET DURING 3-DAY SRU
VISIT
SLIPPERY
ROCK, Pa. – The mystique of Tibet will be brought to the
Slippery Rock University campus Tuesday when seven Buddhist monks
from the Gaden Shartse Monastery located in southern India, open a
three-day visit offering students and area residents a glimpse of
their lives, including monastic dances, music, their religion and
public healing and empowerment ceremonies.
Sponsored
by SRU’s College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts,
College of Health Environment and Science, the Office of
International Initiatives and the Slippery Rock Friends of Tibet,
the packed schedule opens at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday with construction of
a sand mandala in the University Union Lobby. The intricate
religious art work will be built during the visit, then destroyed
at a traditional closing ceremony set for 8:30 p.m.
Thursday.
While
on campus, the monks will visit specific classes, including
“World Literature,” “Interpreting Literature and
Discovering Geography,” “Comparative Politics”
and an English writing class.
At
1:30 p.m. Tuesday [Oct. 8] the group will offer a public workshop
on Tibetan healing in SRU’s Physical Therapy Building and
will demonstrate the techniques of energy-healing traditions which
they see as a healing visualization that can be taught to
participants for use on themselves and others. The procedure
involves removing negative energy and illnesses generated by
negative energy. A question-and-answer period is planned. They note
this empowerment is especially good for those who feel they have no
ailments, but are on a spiritual path, regardless of their
religious or philosophical beliefs. Participants will receive a
mantra, protection cord and a sketch of Vajravidharan drawn by the
monks. Appointments for private healings may be made by calling Dr.
Regis Turocy, assistant professor of physical therapy, at (724)
738-2382.
The
visitors will offer “Four Noble Truths” at 4 p.m.
Tuesday in Spotts World Culture Auditorium detailing the
foundational teachings of Buddhism, followed at 5:15 by a workshop
on Tibetan meditation methods. A performance of Tibetan dance and
music, featuring the dance of the old man and ceremonial music in
the Tibetan tradition will be offered at 7:30 p.m. in Swope Music
Hall.
On
Wednesday [Oct. 9] the Tibetan view of sustainable and traditional
cultures in the modern world will be detailed in a 10:30 a.m.
lecture in Spotts, followed by a noon talk on the Tibetan approach
to sustainable agriculture and environmental relations of humans as
part of the “Local Harvest Lunch” ($5) held in the
University Union. At 7:30 p.m. the group will offer a talk titled
“Tibetan Perspectives on Terrorism, War and Peace” in
Spotts.
At 4
p.m. Thursday a lecture titled “The Heart Sutra and the
Bodhisattva Vow” will be presented in Spotts followed by an
8:30 p.m. closing ceremony, including the dissolution of the sand
mandala, in the University Union.
The
Gaden Shartse Monastic college, which serves as the monk’s
home, is a voluntary seat for Tibetan learning and a non-profit
educational and cultural center. Its concentration is in Tibetan
literature and history and all aspects of Buddhist philosophy and
practice, including rituals and arts such as scroll and sand
painting, along with languages and modern subjects. The monastery
is maintained through agriculture, including 84 acres of farmland.
Funds raised by the current tour help feed, clothe and education
young children entering the community. The visiting monks are
living as refugees in exile in India.
PN,
PgN, WPN, PR, PT