Tibetan Monks Come to Rye
The Gomang Monks will engage in conversation about Buddhist traditions and stage a Tibetan cultural pageant Saturday at the Wainwright House.
The touring Gomang Monks from Tibet and India will come to Rye Saturday to stage a Tibetan cultural pageant at the Wainwright House.
The program marks the start of the Wainwright House’s yearlong 60th anniversary observance, according to Diane Negvesky, director of programs.
It will include ancient Tibetan dance rituals, sacred chants and a good luck dance performed by monks in colorful red robes with orange sashes.
The monks will answer questions in the Tibetan language about the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, which will be translated in English through an interpreter, according to the program announcement.
The monks also will chant prayers and blessings for the Wainwright House, general wellness, and the souls of those who have passed on. They also will pray to remove negative energy and obstacles, while also leading prayers to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas.
The monks’ backstory is fascinating, dating back to an ancient college near Llasa, the capital of Tibet.
Their history originates with the Drepung Loseling Monastery, which was founded in 1416 near Llasa, according the monks' website. The Gomang College is the oldest of the four colleges of Drepung.
When communist China completed their invasion of Tibet in 1959, 5,500 monks had been studying at Gomang. Only about 100 were able to follow the 14th Dalai Lama into exile in India, with the goal of preserving and maintaining their cultural identity and religion.
Ten years later, 60 monks succeeded in establishing the Gomang Monastery in a Tibetan settlement in south India on land donated by the Indian government. They continue to care for the community of Tibetans, also in exile, that surrounds them, according to the website.
They also work diligently to save their culture and way of life. The monastery provides classes for the lay community in Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language to ensure the preservation of their culture.
Proceeds from the Gomang Monks fundraiser at the Wainwright House will help support the Drepung Gomang Monastery. The event also will help focus the public eye on the wide variety of spiritual programs offered by Wainwright House, Negvesky said.
For more information: Wainwright House, 260 Stuyvesant Ave.; phone: 914-967-6080; details and other program listings available at www.wainwright.org.
