Tashi Lhunpo Monks - Sacred Sounds from Tibet

As a prelude to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Manchester this weekend, eight Tibetan monks from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery offer a dramatic presentation of their unique sacred dances, music and prayers, with colourful traditional costumes and ceremonial masks.
The sacred world of Tibet is filled with the chanting of Buddhist texts, the recitation of mantras, the ringing of bells, the clash of cymbals, the booming of the great long horns and the beating of drums. Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, founded by the first Dalai Lama in the 15th century, and the seat of the Panchen Lama, is one of the most important monasteries in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Now re-established in exile in South India, the monastery is once again becoming one of the major centres of learning and the performance offers a rare opportunity to witness a unique and endangered culture.