Mystical Arts of Tibet
February 10-14, 2014
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Click HERE and HERE for more information
Monday, February 10
• Opening Ceremony, UC 223-224, 12:00 pm
• Sand Mandala, UC 223-224, 2:00 – 6:00 pm
Tuesday, February 11
• “The History of Diaspora”, UC Auditorium, 12:00 pm
• Sand Mandala, UC 223-224, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Wednesday, February 12
• “Opening the Heart: Universal Kindness”
International House Great Room, 12:00 pm
• Sand Mandala, UC 223-224, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
• “Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing”
Bijou Theatre, 7:30 pm (For ticket info, click HERE)
Thursday, February 13
• “The Symbolism of the Sand Mandala”, UC Auditorium, 12:00 pm
• Sand Mandala, UC 223-224, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Friday, February 14
• Sand Mandala, UC 223-224, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
• Closing Ceremony, UC 223-224, 12:00 pm
All events are open to the public and free unless otherwise stated. Student ID is required for all students. For more information about these events or to arrange disability accommodations, contact Student Activities at stuact@utk.edu or (865) 974-5455
A Brief History of Drepung Loseling Monastery
Drepung Monastery was established near Lhasa, Tibet in 1416 by Chojey Tashi Palden. It had four departments, of which Loseling, or “The Hermitage of the Radiant Mind,” was the largest, housing more than three quarters of Drepung’s ten to fifteen thousand monks. Drepung Loseling was especially close to the Dalai Lama incarnations; the Second Dalai Lama made his residence here in 1494, and subsequent incarnations maintained this link.
After the Chinese Communist invasion of Tibet in 1959 and the forced closure and destruction of its 6,500 monasteries, some 250 monks from Loseling managed to escape and rebuild their institution in Karnataka State, South India. The traditional training program was thus preserved. Over the years many more young spiritual aspirants have fled Chinese-occupied Tibet and sought entrance into the monastery, thus helping to preserve their traditional culture. The number of monks presently in the re-established Drepung Loseling has increased to more than 2,500.
In 1988-1989, eight lamas from Drepung Loseling Monastery visited North America as part of Loseling’s first world tour of Sacred Music Sacred Dance for planetary peace and healing. While in Atlanta, they were given a small tract of land in the mountains of north Georgia. The head lama, H.E. Gungbar Tulku, accepted the land on behalf of the monastery.
The founder of Losel Shedrup Ling of Knoxville, Geshe Dadul Namgyal, is currently a resident scholar at the American seat of Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta, Georgia.
