An air of serenity has settled over the Supreme Court building in Darwin.
If you walk through the front doors of the building during the Festival the amazing sound of Gyuto Monks from Tibet will immediately draw you into their camp.
It’s the second time the monks have visited Darwin, and for nine days over the Festival they are spending time holding morning meditations, conducting teachings on Tibetan Buddhism and creating the two metre sand Mandala of Chakrasamvara.
The monks are constructing the Mandala from memory using coloured sand ground from rock in the Himalayas.
It’s a long and slow process and watching the monks construct the Mandala is like watching patience in practice.
The group is led by Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche who has just been appointed the deputy head of the Dalai Lama Gelug-pa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.
Through a translator Rinpoche spoke about the purpose of his visit to Darwin.
“The main focus for the monks’ visit to Darwin is to promote world peace from the perspective of making their sand Mandalas and chanting and things like that.”
“We are offering a public program, in which the monks are making beautiful sand Mandalas at the Supreme Courthouse, in conjunction with that we run meditation classes, teaching classes as well as tantric art workshops for the adults, kids, everything.”
The monks hope to provide activities so as many people as possible will come and experience their values and way of life.
As a way of marking the conclusion of the monks’ visit to Darwin, the completed Mandala will be carried to the nearest moving water and the sand symbolically scattered.
The Gyuto Monks talk to Fiona Churchman in RealMedia format
