lifestyles
From the Womb of the Earth
T
They perform to educate. They sing for understanding. They are nine Tibetan monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in India, and they are coming to Lawrence to spread their message of peace and world harmony.
By Casey Barnes Kansan staff writer
hey produce sounds that some have described as coming from the womb of the earth.
They are nine Tibetan monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in India, and they are performing in their fourth world tour of "Sacred Music Sacred Dance" at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St.
Drawing from their traditional temple music, the monks are trying to generate world harmony, love, passion and purification for the environment, said Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, tour director.
"The music brings forces of goodness and healing," Tenzin said. "Our hope is that our audiences will learn something about developing a positive world view about oneself and others. That is the kind of message we are hoping to spread."
Despite 40 years of Chinese occupation and attempts by the Chinese to destroy the heritage and identity of the Tibetan people, the monks continue with the hope of restoring peace and harmony to their endangered culture.
They also want to educate Western cultures about the political situation in Tibet and the mystical powers that their music can create.
"By being here and performing mystical art, we want to raise awareness about our culture." Tenzin said. "Sacred, modern day Tibet is completely lost due to Chinese ownership, and we want to raise concern about the situation. Through peaceful means, the situation could be resolved, but we need the support, and we need the world public to be aware."
Most of the monks were either killed or put in concentration camps, but those who escaped to India re-established their
The monks also hope to raise funds for their monastery and the many monks that are living in exile, Tenzi said.
The Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s destroyed much of the Tibetan people, heritage and monasteries, including the Drepung Loseling Monastery.
Daniel Stevenson, assistant professor in religious studies, said the monks' performance not only reflected the monks' spiritual beliefs, but the performance was also a plea to preserve the Tibetan culture.
"There are more than 2,000 monks at the monastery that are fresh refugees from Tibet, and they are here to get an education," Tenzin said.
"There is really a cultural genocide going on under the Chinese rule of Tibet," he said. "They are dismantling the Tibetan culture."
Since the Chinese occupation, education has been purged from the Tibetan culture.
"Our music and the chanting is getting very popular in America," he said. "Especially if the performance is seen, the audience can put a picture with the music and put them in some sort of context."
Their first record, Tibetan Sacred Temple Music, was among the top 25 albums on the New Age charts for a year, and it reached No.1 on the new age chart in Canada, Tenzin said.
bells, drums, long horned trumpets and high horns, the monks put on a performance that is worth seeing and listening to, Stevenson said.
Singing in the multi-phonic technique and playing the traditional instruments of cymbals,
"The claim is that the monks are trained to set up residences in their chest and nasal passages and create a range of tones to sing several notes simultaneously." Stevenson said. "It is a special type of chanting that brings blessing to people who do it.
"It extracts some sections from the Buddhist rituals, to give an idea of what it is like."
In past tours, the monks have performed with Paul Simon, Edie Brickell and the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Lawrence Nightlife Calendar
The Bottleneck
737 New Hampshire St.
KJHK Benefit with Vitreous Humor, Heatmiser,
Shallow and the Brandos, 10 tonight, $8 (18 and
over).
Kill Creek and House of Large Sizes, 10 p.m. tomorrow, $4-5 (18 and over).
L.A. Ramblers, 10 p.m. Saturday, $4.
$4.
Kill Creek, 7 p.m. Sunday, $5 (all ages show). Open Mike Night, 10 p.m. Monday, no cover charge.
Cop Shoot Cop, 10 p.m. Tuesday, advanced tickets $6 (18 and over).
Season to Risk with Unsane and Smog, 10 p.m. Wednesday, $6-7 (18 and over).
The Samples, 9 tonight, sold out.
642 Massachusetts St.
Liberty Hall
The Samples, 9 tonight, sold out.
The Drepung Loseling Monks Benefit Concert, 8
p.m. tomorrow, advanced tickets $12 public,
$10 students with I.D.
1601 West 23rd St.
Simplexity, 10 tonight, cover charge
Simplexity, 10 tonight, cover charge.
Salty Iguanas with Pamper the Madman, 10 p.m.
tomorrow, cover charge.
River Valley Music Cafe
The Pedestrians with Stir, 10 p.m. Saturday, cover charge.
Violent Femmes with G-Love and Special Sauce, 10 p.m. Monday, advanced tickets $14.50.
The Jazzhaus of Lawrence
926 1/2 Massachusetts St.
Happy Teriyaki 6 and Easy Reader, 10 tonight,
$2.
Walking on Einstein, 10 p.m. tomorrow, $3.
Correo Aereo, 7 p.m. Saturday, $3.
70'S disco Party, 10 p.m. Saturday, $1.
Shag and Amputateo, 10 p.m. Thursday, $3.
Full Moon Cafe
803 Massachusetts St.
Lou's Revenge, 9 tonight, no cover charge. Bill Crahan and Scott Tichenor, 9 p.m. tomorrow, no cover charge.
Ashiklar, 9 p.m. Saturday, no cover charge.
White Trash Express, 9 p.m. Wednesday, no cover charge.
Celtic Night with Palisman, 9 p.m. Thursday, no cover charge.