Be the Dance

Monks serve as ambassadors of spirituality, peace
Friday, April 27, 2007
Image courtesy of buddhistchannel.tv

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

This Sunday, prepare yourself for a religious experience that you don't have every week. That is, unless you're actor Richard Gere.

Gere's production company coordinates the "Mystical Arts of Tibet" world tour, which comes to Ramapo College's Berrie Center this weekend with "Sacred Music and Sacred Dance."

"It leaves the audience with a very strong feeling of universal connectivity," said spokesman Tsepak Rigzin.

For the Tibetan monks of the Drepung Loseling monastery who will be performing at Berrie, the creative arts are an expression of spirituality. Performing arts, in particular, share the religious experience of meditation with an audience.

"You can call these dances, chanting and songs a form of meditation," Rigzin said.

Photo courtesy of mysticalartsoftibet.org.

Song and dance are integral to many religions, but the Drepung Loseling monks have a unique skill: They can sing three notes at once. Individual chant masters can simultaneously intone three notes, creating a complete harmonic chord in a technique called multiphonic singing. They do this by learning to control the muscles of the vocal cavity and re-shaping it while singing.

The singing style, as well as the healing ceremonies and dances, have a history that stretch back 400 years. "They show the secular as well as the religious aspects of purifications and healing," Rigzin explained.

Jane Stein, director of the Berrie Center, admits that it is challenging material.

"But it's also an opportunity for people to see things that they don't usually see," she said, adding the performance furthers the mission of educating students and the public in international culture.

Photo courtesy of mysticalartsoftibet.org.

The monks themselves have a distinctly educational mission and often perform at universities. During this trip to New Jersey, they will also be appearing on May 5 at the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University.

The tour has been endorsed by the Dalai Lama as a means of promoting world peace and healing through sacred performing art. At performances, monks hand out literature in hopes of spreading knowledge about Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan way of life.

Since they began their tour 13 years ago, they've represented their culture in Western media, popping up in movie soundtracks and other collaborations. You may have heard their work in "Seven Years in Tibet," starring Brad Pitt, or in a score by Philip Glass for the Martin Scorsese film "Kundun."

Photo courtesy of friendsoftibet.org.

But in the end, nothing matches a live performance for sheer presence. "We find the audience very much engaged," said Rigzin. "They receive it in a very strong universal spirit."



E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.