Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

10/03/05
Story by Peggy Graham

Monks Are Enchanting at JCCC

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery, Tibet, will talk about Tibetan Buddhism at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in the Craig Community Auditorium (room 233 of the General Education Building) at Johnson County Community College.

The monks will demonstrate a Puja (offering). These prayers are recited in the traditional overtone chanting, each monk singing a full chord of three notes, accompanied by delicate hand gestures, cymbals, drums, horns and flutes. 

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Appliqued Thangka (a traditional Tibetan form of religious art originating in India whose subject or subjects may include buddhas, bodhisattvas, meditationaldeities, great teachers, and mandalas. Most thangkas are scroll paintings usually framed in a rich colorful silk brocade and have a thin silk veil.)

The monks’ visit is part of the Drepung Gomang Monastery’s 2005 Sacred Art of the Land of the Snows tour, which is intended to communicate a message of peace, wisdom and compassion; introduce the arts and culture of Tibet to a North American audience; and generate funds for the food foundation and health fund of the monastery. The tour will present workshops on a variety of topics related to Tibetan arts, considered the foundation for which individual expression and faith is conveyed.

During their stay in Kansas City, the Tibetan monks have also scheduled a cultural performance at Penn Valley Community College and a sand mandala (sand painting) at the Union Station.

For more information about JCCC’s presentation, contact Carolyn Kadel, facilitator, JCCC International Education, 913-469-8500, ext. 3496.