For a full schedule, visit Placerville Friends of Tibet website: placervillefriendsoftibet.org
- The Sacred Arts Tour of Gaden Shartse Norling Monastery will be returning to Placerville January 2nd through the 14th, 2022.
- Buddhist Monks will bring the Dukar Mandala—White Parasol—to this area for the first time since their tour began in the Sierra Foothills in 2001. This deity symbolizes her ability to protect all sentient beings from negative forces, including disease and natural catastrophes.
- The Gaden Shartse Buddhist Monks will join with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians in the morning of January 3rd to do land blessings and healings in the fire devastation area of Grizzly Flat, a town in El Dorado County that was devastated during the Caldor Fire this summer.
- They will also gather for a public discussion on environmental stewardship and healing the earth from Buddhist and Indigenous perspective.
The Sacred Arts Tour of Gaden Shartse Norling Monastery will be returning to Placerville January 2nd through the 14th, 2022. Since 2001, Placerville Friends of Tibet, in collaboration with Sierra Friends of Tibet, have hosted this arts and culture tour. The monks of Gaden Shartse Monastery located (in exile) in Southern India, who know and love the Sierra Foothills and surrounding communities, are bringing this mandala specifically for El Dorado County and the surrounding area in response to the devastation recently suffered because of the Caldor and other regional fires.
During the tour, the Monks will share their arts and culture, Tibetan perspectives on the Buddha’s teachings, offer empowerments, healings, and blessings for individuals, families, businesses, the environment, pets, and the community at large.
The opening ceremony and Dharma talk explaining this mandala will begin on January 2nd, 4:00 p.m. The public can view the daily progress of the sand mandala from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The sand mandala creation culminates with a closing ceremony on Friday, January 14th @ 6:00 p.m.
This event helps support Gaden Shartse Monastic College, which is situated in the remote countryside of southern India. It was founded in 1969 as an effort to re-establish one of the great monastic traditions of Tibet—the Gelug tradition followed by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. A small group of elder monks and fifteen young boys, all of whom had managed to escape the destruction in Tibet, settled on land given to them by the Indian government in Mundgod, Karnataka.
Today the college is at the forefront of the revival of Tibetan Monastic education, with more than 1600 resident students, teachers, scholars, and spiritual practitioners. More than 70% of the members are between the ages of 10 and 25 and 80% of these were born in Tibet. To this day, young monks arrive at the Monastery weekly from Tibet, seeking shelter and education. Due to the success of the academic program and the quality of the teachers at the monastery, Gaden Shartse has established a reputation as being the leader in the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies.
About Us:
Placerville Friends of Tibet is a group of dedicated volunteers who, since 2003, have committed their time, energy, and resources to sharing the culture of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism with the communities of El Dorado County and the greater Sacramento region. This group is an incubator partnership with Arts & Culture El Dorado.
Placerville Friends of Tibet is a diverse group of individuals of varying ages, educational backgrounds, professions, religions, and spiritual beliefs.
Placerville Friends of Tibet is following recommended Covid mitigation efforts. Guests and Volunteers are required to wear facial coverings when indoors.