“The Gyuto Monks are masters of Tibetan Buddhist tantric ritual and their lives are dedicated to practicing tantric ideals. To be with them, to observe and be touched by their humanity is to see kindness in action”

I don’t remember the year, but I’ll never forget the occasion or the feeling. I was seated in a softly lighted church in Golden Valley when I first heard the deep guttural sound of chanting – it entered my consciousness and seemed to resonate in my body and soul. I looked up and on the altar were monks in gold and burgundy robes. Two of the monks held long golden horns which they lifted to their mouths and the sounds mixed with the chanting. I felt swept along. I later read this description, “Awesome mystery. Mood and mind altering and beyond.”

It was all of that.

“From 779, when Buddhism became the state religion of Tibet, until 1959, when its civilization was crushed by the Chinese army, Tibet set itself single mindedly on spiritual development. Tibet’s music and art were inspired by meditation and designed to aid it. Her popular heroes were Buddhas, not soldiers. Great monastic universities – the largest housed ten thousand teachers and students – taught the theory, practice and history of human spiritual development.

That was the first time I heard the Gyuto monks who had come to Minneapolis right after the first wave of Tibetans had arrived. My daughter, had done Publicity and Public Relations for the Committee arranging for the Tibetans to be in this state. This was a time of great excitement as the Committee arranged for jobs and housing and prepared to meet and welcome the first Tibetans as they arrived at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.

One of the arrangements she made was for an evening of meditation and introduction to these remarkable monks, who were some of the handful of who had escaped the destruction of their monastery and the killing of hundreds. It was a history of tragedy and almost unimaginable suffering and deprivation, yet here were these monks. They were gentle and smiling men who seemed to love to laugh and were delighted by everything.

The monks of Gyuto have perfected a special type of chant in which each monk sings not a single note but an entire chord. “This remarkable, transcendentally beautiful sound,” notes Robert Thurman, Chair of the Department of Religion, Columbia University, “is thought to arise only from the throat of a person who has realized selfless wisdom.”

One of the highlights of this visit was the magnificent and sacred sand mandala the Gyuto monks made in Saint Paul. On the last day of their visit, I joined with a group who gasped as they watched the monks destroy the mandala and brush the sand into containers. In solemn procession, we walked to the Mississippi River where the sand was sent back to the earth and water. It was a living sign of the Buddhist belief in impermanency.

These experiences were life changing for me. It made changes in the way I lived and prayed. It made me read and learn and with my daughter as my teacher, provided an additional level of awareness of elements of faith and worship and cultural differences. It deepened the understanding I had when I read Thomas Merton’s Asian Journal and learned of his pilgrimages in the East before his death. There is so much to know and it’s so exciting. An amazing number of websites will provide enriching information. Just type “Gyuto” or “Tibet” and stand back!!!!!

Ronnie Angelus says: "There are three things that make my life work: Talking to my daughter who opens vistas to me and makes me laugh; being in the circle of the Divas, my writing group, who shout "go girl" and give me standing ovations with their smiles and tears; sitting next to Mary and Claude Paradis during Sunday Mass at St. Joan of Arc, which is as close to pure goodness as I will know in this lifetime."

Now it’s our turn!! The Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir is coming to Saint Joan – to chant at our masses and later in the evening in Concert, on Sunday, May 27, 2007.

I’ll be there again. I hope to see you, and hope we can talk about the mysteries that seem always to be just a little beyond the reach of understanding.

"Some people may ask 'Why are they performing publicly what should be esoteric rites?' Perhaps these people feel that secret teachings should not be turned into a theatrical spectacle. But they need not be concerned. The secret interior path and its processes are things which the ordinary eye cannot percieve." - H. H. The Dalai Lama