Buddhist monks share their culture with Newbury, Thatcham and Ramsbury primary schools
Newbury Spring Festival took Tibetan Monks into three primary schools last week.
The Monks, from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, visited the schools in Newbury, Thatcham and Ramsbury, where the children learned about the Buddhist faith, the monks’ daily life and witnessed dances and prayers.
Following their recent enlightening performance at the Corn Exchange during Newbury Spring Festival, the Tibetan monks returned to the area to share their culture with local primary schoolchildren.
Organised by the Festival, the mini-tour saw the monks take their Buddhist culture - expertly demystified by Jane Rasch - to St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Newbury; St Finian’s Catholic Primary School, Thatcham and Ramsbury Primary School.
Pupils were treated to a dance that involved music from longhorns (dungchen) and percussion. They were wowed by the colourful costume for this dance, traditionally performed at Tibetan New Year (Losar), a festival of great cultural significance to the monks. In one of the schools, there was even time for some children to try playing the longhorns themselves.
The schools were also shown several mudrasor symbolic hand gestures used during prayers, how to perform them and told of their meanings, which ranged from water and food to candles and incense. After this interactive demonstration, the monks used the gestures in a real - albeit shortened prayer – at home in the monastery, the prayer can continue for up to five hours.
Finally, the children were invited to ask questions about the monks’ Buddhist faith and their lives. Questions from the pupils included what the monks eat, whether they are allowed to see their families, and whether they celebrate Christmas.
Festival administrator and education and community lead Jane Pickering said: “It was such a privilege to bring the Monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery to three local primary schools.
“All three schools were Christian-based faith schools and it was lovely to see the children interacting with a religious culture that has so many differences and yet so many similarities to their own.
“We were all so impressed by the insightful questions the pupils at all three schools asked, and the respectful fascination they showed throughout the monks’ workshop.”
This year’s education and participation work at Newbury Spring Festival has also included schools’ workshops with Ferio Saxophone Quartet, free tickets for school classes to attend the Festival’s popular lunchtime concert series, and the Young Festival Critics competition, as well as a host of family friendly events during last month’s festival.
The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery was based in Tibet until the Chinese invasion and subsequent Cultural Revolution forced the monks to relocate to India, where they can practise their religion freely. Boys join the monastery from the age of six, when they begin their religious studies alongside conventional schooling. Their religious studies continue for as many as 16 years. Some of the monks regularly tour in the UK and beyond, bringing their tantric culture, prayers, dress, music and dance to a western audience in an important cultural exchange which also raises funds for the monastery.
