TIBETAN monks have taken over the University of Sheffield with a rare performance of their masked dances and holy chants.
The sacred world of Tibet travelled to Sheffield for one night only to fill the university with the sounds of Buddhist texts, the recitation of mantras, the ringing of bells, the clash of cymbals and the booming of great long horns.
The monks come from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, founded by the first Dalai Lama in the 15th century.
Originally formed in Tibet, it is now re-established in exile in South India and is still thought to be one of the most important monasteries in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
"After the Tibetan national uprising in 1959, a handful of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery monks along with many thousands of Tibetans escaped into India," explained charity support worker Jane Rasch, who is travelling with the monks on their European tour.
"Where there were once 6,000 monks there is now a settlement of about 300, all studying and training as they would have done in Tibet."
The monks are visiting the UK for three months, touring with their performance of The Power of Compassion. They have just finished a run in Lisbon and will be moving on to Italy before Christmas.
"The eight monks are having a great time, though they don't think much to our weather!" Jane said.
As well as dancing and chanting, their performance includes a debate.
"This goes back to a big part of their training," Jane explained. "They have to study and learn huge sections of Buddhist text and they test each other by having these debates.
"Unlike debates in our country they can get quite frenzied and involve a lot of jumping about trying to make one's point, so we thought it would be interesting to include an example in the performance."
University concerts manager Stewart Campbell said: "The University Concert Series is a keen promoter of World Music, and the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery Monks were probably one of our most daring, and eye-opening programmes to date."
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