Don't Give Up ....by Sr. Dorothy

In early May, a group of eight Tibetan monks stayed for several days at The Priory Spirituality Center. They had dinner with our St. Placid Sisters on Sunday evening, and though most of them had minimal English, there was plenty of good will and a bit of conversation. 

Tibetan monks enjoy a meal with St. Placid Sisters

These monks are of the lineage of the Dalai Lama, and like him are in exile from Tibet which has been controlled by the Chinese for many years. They are on mission in the United States to pray for peace and to raise awareness around the situation in Tibet and their own community's situation as exiles at Drepung Gomang Monastery in India. They continually pray for peace, and are currently on a Sacred Arts Tour visiting North America--to connect with Tibetan Buddhists, to teach friends old and new about Tibetan Buddhism and their cultural traditions, and to engage in Interfaith dialogue. They share a message of compassion, world healing and peace, and they do fund-raising to help support their community of refugee monks which is quite large--almost 2,000 monks. Some of their needs are for proper food, improvement in health and hygiene and providing for better education facilities for monk students.

Drepung Gomang Monastery, India

"Recognizing well, and very deeply, that there have been great tragedies in every part of the world, we want to share our sympathy and prayers together with you as human beings sharing this planet and sharing the future of this home of ours."

 While they were here, the monks walked the Priory's grounds daily, praying and blessing. On Tuesday, they gave the Sisters a traditional chanted blessing in the afternoon. On Wednesday, Sr. Sonja took them out to the Billy Frank, Jr. National Wildlife Refuge, where they walked and enjoyed the scenery.

At Billy Frank, Jr. National Wildlife Refuge

Taking a break at the wildlife refuge

At some point while they were here, they glimpsed the magnificent Mt. Rainier and wanted to make a trip to see the mountain up closer, but unfortunately, time and other activities did not allow for that.

The monk who was the driver for the rest, Geshe Sonam Gyatso, is the Assistant Director at the North American Seat of Drepung Gomang, Center for Engaging Compassion in Louisville, Kentucky. If you would like to support the work of the Tibetan monks here or in India, there is an opportunity to do so at: DrepungGomangUSA.org

Peace be with all of us--and our world!