The Sacred Art of the Drepung Gomang Monastery
A group of Tibetan Monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery Art Tour of 2015 is arriving in Central California for a four week stay, April 13 – May 8. They will be exhibiting Tibetan Crafts, creating large beautiful sand paintings and presenting cultural pageant performances that include: dance, song, chant and a fascinating example of the debate monks use to train their thinking. All donations at any event will go toward their monastic work with the poor, hungry and infirmed. There will be many varied appearances in San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Oceano and Santa Maria
There will be sand mandalas created at the following locations:
Steynberg Gallery in San Luis Obispo April 13-17 1531 Monterey St.
Earthtones Gallery 1319 Park St. Paso Robles, April 21-24.
Oceano Train Depot 1650 Front Street, Oceano April 29 – May 3rd
Allan Hancock College Art Gallery, Santa Maria May 4-7.
They begin their tour of the area with a Green Tara Mandala created at Steynberg Art Gallery,1531 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo. Monday through Friday 10:00 AM till – 4:30 PM April 13th – 17th. The incredible closing ceremony for the Green Tara Mandala will take place at 2:00 PM on Friday the 17th.
Following the SLO appearance, the Monks travel to north county to Earthtones Gallery 1319 Park St. Paso Robles, April 21st – 24th. The opening ceremony will begin April 21st at 10AM. The mandala created at Earthtones will be The Chenrezig, Buddha of Compassion, Mandala. The amazing closing ceremony will begin at 2PM on Friday April 24th
The 5 Cities area will enjoy a five day Sacred Art of the Sand Mandala that will take place at Oceano Museum, located in the restored Train Depot 1650 Front Street, Oceano, Wednesday – Sunday April 29 – May 3rd with the following times: Opening Ceremony and mandala construction, Wednesday, April 29th, 10AM – 5PM. Continuing work on the mandala will occur April 30 – May 2nd (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) 10AM – 4PM and finally, Sunday, May 3rd 10AM – 3PM. for the closing ceremony. The sand painting that is being created at the Museum will be The Medicine Buddha.It is best to come daily to see the beautiful designs emerge. Call (805) 922-6966 or (805) 466-4653 for more information.
Santa Maria will enjoy a five day Sacred Art of the Sand Mandala that will take place at Allan Hancock College’s Art Gallery Monday through Thursday May 4 – 7 with the following times: Monday, May 4th, 10AM – 5PM. May 5 – 7. (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) 9AM – 4PM when the closing ceremony will occur. The sand painting that is appearing at the Art Gallery will be the beautiful Inner Faith design. It is best to come daily to see the beautiful designs emerge.Call (805) 922-6966 or (805) 466-4653 for more information.
Sand paintings are an ancient art form of Tibetan Buddhism. Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning cosmogram or “world in harmony.” Drawn in three-dimensional forms of sand, this art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor signifying “mandala of colored powders” in Tibetan. The mandala is an imaginary palace contemplated during meditation. Each object in the palace has significance, representing some aspect of wisdom or guiding principle. Various scriptural texts dictate the shapes, forms, and colors of the mandala. There are many different mandalas, each with different lessons to teach and blessings to confer. Most contain a host of deities, symbolic archetypes of the landscape of the mind.
In general, all mandalas have outer, inner, and secret meaning. On the outer level they represent the world in its divine form; on the inner level, they represent a map by which the ordinary human mind is transformed into the enlightened mind; and on the secret level, they predict the primordially perfect balance of the subtle energies of the body and the clear light dimension of the mind. The creation of a sand painting is said to affect purification and healing on these three levels.
There will be additional events in the 5 Cities area along with the Mandala.
at Branch Mill Organic farm. The monks will appear at the Earth Day Fair Sunday, April 26, 2015 10 am to 4 pm 2815 Branch Mill Road.
Sunday’s Fire Puja is a private event – Please excuse any errors.
A cultural performance will take place at the Hiawatha Lodge in Halcyon on May 1st at 7:00 PM. This performance includes song, dance, and the appearance of mythical animals. The performance is from the Land of Snows where magical costumes and characters delighted villagers at annual festivals. 20 dollar suggested donation
Along with the Medicine Mandala at Oceano Depot Museum, there will be mandalas at the following locations: Steynberg Gallery in SLO April 13-17 1531 Monterey St. Earthtones Gallery 1319 Park St. Paso Robles, April 21-24. Santa Maria Allan Hancock College Art Gallery May 4-7.
The monks can be scheduled for special personal / events / program blessings (pujas). Please call Anet Carlin (805) 466-4653 or David Georgi at (805) 922-6966 for information and scheduling. Click here for descriptions of the Special types of events.