T h e   T i b e t   H o u s e

Once upon a time, in Tibet, the capital city of Lhasa would come alive twice a year to celebrate two major Buddhist festivals: the Monlam Chenmo or great prayer festival and the Tshokcho with Sedreng (Golden Procession). Pilgrims would come from all over the country to attend the festivals which combined religious practice with entertainment, two aspects of Tibetan culture that have not failed to rise interest wherever such events have been recreated around the world.

Tibet House, in its endeavour to introduce Indian audiences to authentic Tibetan culture and traditions, had organized in the year 199 a mini Monlam Chenmo festival where customary prayers were conducted at Buddha Jayanti Park and a traditional invocation to H.H. the Dalai Lama was performed by the Chant Master of Drepung Monastery who walked at slow pace on a ramp while intoning the invocation in the typical deep overtone style. It was a grand event, graced not only by H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama but also by the former President of India, Shri R. Venkataraman.

This year Tibet House will honour the 2550th anniversary of Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana with a major cultural event, an International Festival of Buddhist Chanting and Ritual, which will last for three days and will see the participation of groups from most Buddhist countries. The Festival will be inaugurated on 8th October 2006 by HH the Dalai Lama at Buddha Jayanti Park – also marking 13 years of the installation of the Buddha Statue at the park. On this occasion Tibet House will recreate the atmosphere of the second great Festival, the Tshokcho, by organizing a Golden Procession. 108 monks and nuns belonging to the 4 major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism will parade at the park in their ceremonial attire, carrying each a different item of offering.

Historically, the Tshokcho festival was instituted in the 17th Century by Sangye Gyatso, the Regent of the Fifth Dalai Lama, in commemoration of a vision seen by the Great Fifth. The Golden Procession would encircle the Potala Palace like a giant golden rosary while H.H. the Dalai Lama would watch the event from his quarters up high in the palace. In concomitance with the procession, a large Thangka was displayed over the wall of the Potala Palace.

The sacred objects that would be carried in the processions were housed in the Treasure Room of the Jokhang, the main holy Shrine in Lhasa and they were taken out for the Golden Procession once a year. The evening before the event, the sacred items were taken out in the presence of representatives of the Dalai Lama, the Kashag (Council of Minister) and the Treasurers were guarded overnight. The monks assembled at the Jokhang at dawn and as the first ray of the sun lit up the summit of the Gephelri mountain the procession would set round the Barkor (inner circuit), then proceed south towards the Lingkor (outer circuit) and finally across the Turquoise Bridge leading to the Potala Palace.

The procession would be led by a Master of Ceremony carrying incense, while the following monks would hold holy objects such as images and offering objects such as mandalas, musical instruments, banners and many more. As soon as the procession reached the stone pillar in front of the Potala, the enormous Goeku – a silk appliqué Thangka of 75 by 40 feet – would be hauled up the Potala walls. Then the festival proper began, which included chanting, music and sacred dances – including the strenuous “8 drum dance” – being performed in the courtyard. Later the procession set out again on its course, this time joined by His Holiness’ elephant, and winded its way around the Potala – halting at several points to either rest or perform – to finally return to the Jokhang where the offering items would be handed over to the Treasurer and kept safely till the next year.

At the Buddha Jayanti Park, the event will closely follow the brief of the traditional festival, though with some variations dictated by location and changing times. Whereas the original event would have hundreds of monks from the Monasteries in and around Lhasa, in its modern avatar the procession will have 100 monks and 8 nuns. The 100 monks in 4 groups of 25 each will represent monasteries from the 4 major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism: for the Nyingma tradition Mindrolling monastery from Dehradun, Uttaranchal; for the Kagyu tradition Khampagar monastery from Tashi Jong, Himachal; for the Sakya tradition, Gongkar Choede monastery from Dehradun, Uttaranchal; for the Geluk tradition the Tsechokling monastery from Dharamsala, Himachal.

8 nuns from the Shugsep nunnery, Dharamsala, will join the monks. Besides the total 108 monastics forming the Golden Procession, each monastery will have 4 monks on stage who will intone the background chanting during the event. A monk carrying a banner, each representing wisdom Buddhas and their respective wisdom qualities, will lead each group. The other monks will carry different offerings.

1. The Nyngma contingent will be led by a monk carrying a white banner, symbol of auspiciousness and of the Buddha Vairochana. The rest of the group will carry auspicious symbols and banners of different shapes and colours.
2. The Kagyu group will open with a yellow banner, representing Buddha Ratnasambhava and his enriching quality. This group’s main offering items are musical instruments, mainly wind instruments such as conch shells, trumpets, shehnai etc.
3. The Sakya monks will be the bearers of the red banner, colour of Buddha Amitabha and his power of control. They will carry percussion instruments such as drums, cymbals etc. This group will also include 8 drum dancers who will perform the spectacular drum dance during the procession.
4. Last come the Geluk group, heralded by the green banner, symbol of the Buddha Amogasiddhi and the wisdom of accomplishment. The offerings carried by this group are highly symbolic and are connected to traditional rituals, in particular the Mandala Offering ceremony. First come the 7 royal attributes i.e. chakra, jewel, queen, minister, elephant, horse, and general. Then the 4 offerings representing the 4 Dvipa lands: the precious mountain, the wish-fulfilling tree, the wish-fulfilling cow and the uncultivated crop. These are followed by the traditional offerings of the 16 Arhats such as monastic robes, sitting mats, vase, begging bowl, monk’s staff etc. The Geluk contingent will close with 4 monks carrying Thangkas depicting the 4 Lokapalas, or Guardian kings of the world.
5. The four groups will be followed by a fifth one, that of 8 nuns holding each a large damaru (hand drum) and bell which are used in the practice of chod.