Tibetan monks will call CH home June 17–30

The monks of the Sacred Arts of Tibet Tour. [photo: Melanie Sullivan]

Six Tibetan Buddhist monks will be staying in Cleveland Heights June 17–30 while they perform cultural programs throughout Greater Cleveland. The monks are from Gaden Shartse Monastic University (GSMU) in Mundgod, Karnataka, India. They are traveling throughout the United States for two years on their “Sacred Arts of Tibet Tour.”

The purpose of the tour is to share Tibetan Buddhist culture and teach practices for achieving inner peace and compassion. All funds raised on the tour support the monks’ monastery and school.

During their stay in Cleveland Heights, the monks will conduct lectures; art and music demonstrations; healings; empowerments; and business, personal and pet blessings at local organizations, businesses, schools, homes and parks. They will also be creating sand mandala artwork and will have Tibetan cultural merchandise for sale at each event.

The tour is run by the Gaden Shartse Cultural Foundation (GSCF), a 501(c)3 nonprofit. All donations given to the monks are tax-deductible, and all are forwarded to GSCF, which uses the funds to pay for the housing, food, medical care, scholastic education and training of the children and monks at GSMU.

GSMU was founded in 1969 by a group of monks who escaped Tibet during the invasion by China in 1959. They built the monastery and school on land gifted to them by the Indian government, in an effort to preserve the culture, traditions and teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. The university currently houses and educates more than 1,600 students, teachers, scholars, and spiritual practitioners. More than 70% of residents are young monks ages 10–25.

For a list of monk-tour events visit www.lovinghandsyoga.com/tibetan-outreach. If you would like to make a donation to the monks, host or sponsor an event, or provide them with a meal, call 216-408-5578 or e-mail judith@lovinghandsgroup.com.

For more information about the monks and the tour, visit www.sacredartsoftibettour.org.