(West Palm Beach, FL – December 16, 2024) For the second year in a row, the Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden will welcome the Sacred Arts Tour Monks of Drepung Gomang Monastery, a Tibetan monastery in Karnataka State, South India, for five days of special events and a variety of experiences, Monday through Saturday, January 6-11, 2025.

 

These soul-stirring experiences that week at Mounts Botanical Garden will include:

• Daily Opening & Closing Ceremonies
• Sand Mandala Creation
• Mani Stone Painting Workshop
• Pet Blessing
• Momo Sale
• Cultural Pageant

 

Workshops and activities will be led by the tour monks. Registration is required; space is limited.

 

Proceeds from the Sacred Arts Tour help the monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery to raise support for the refugee monks’ community in south India for proper food, improvement in health and hygiene, and for providing better education facilities for the monk students to preserve their traditions and culture.   

 

January 6-11

Sacred Arts Tour Monks

Monday through Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

 

General Admission January 6-10 includes full access to the Sacred Arts Tour mandala making, prayer ceremonies, and the Tibetan Marketplace for the day. A Single Day Pass is $25 per day for Nonmembers (includes Garden admission), and $5 per day for Members (Garden admission is free with membership).

 

General Admission January 11 for the Cultural Pageant and final Closing Ceremony is $30 per day for Nonmembers (includes Garden admission), and $10 per day for Members. Monk-led workshops and activities are not included with general admission pass. Saturday admission for the Cultural Pageant and Closing Mandala Dissolution Ceremony is not included.

 

Multiple Day Discount is $100 per person for Nonmembers and $20 for Members. This special pass pays for four days with the fifth free (Monday through Friday only) and includes access to daily opening and closing ceremonies, viewing the Sand Mandala construction, and authentic Tibetan Marketplace. Monk-led workshops and activities are not included with this week-long general admission pass. Saturday admission for the Cultural Pageant and Closing Mandala Dissolution Ceremony is not included.

 

For complete details or to purchase tickets to the Sacred Arts Tour at Mounts Botanical Garden from January 6-11, 2025, visit https://www.mounts.org/sacred-arts-tour-drepung-gomang-monastery/.

 

Sacred Arts Tour at Mounts Botanical Garden

Join us in welcoming the monks from the Drepung Gomang monastery who are renowned for the Sacred Art of Sand Mandala Construction. They will be creating a Green Tara Sand Mandala (Dol jang), which is the Female Buddha that grants protection and relief from suffering, and generates compassion, love, and peace. Construction of a mandala of this size and intricacy takes 5-7 days to complete with multiple monks working on it for 5-6 hours a day. Each day’s events include opening ceremonies and informal conversation with the monks as the mandala is created. Before and after working on the mandala each day, the monks recite prayers in the traditional overtone chanting, with each monk singing a full chord of three notes. The prayers are often accompanied by delicate hand gestures, cymbals, drums, horns, and flutes. General Admission includes full access to the Sacred Art Tour mandala making, prayer ceremonies, and the Tibetan Marketplace for the day.

 

 

Additional Workshops & Activities Led by the Monks

 

Monday—Saturday, January 6-11 / 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Authentic Tibetan Marketplace

The Sacred Art monks of Drepung Gomang bring with them Tibetan merchandise with Buddhist religious symbols and mantras. Much of the merchandise is made by the monks living at the monastery and helps to support those studying there with living expenses and medical care. Full-day access to the Authentic Tibetan Marketplace is included with your general admission ticket. All proceeds from the marketplace go directly to the monks of the Drepung Gomang Monastery.

 

Tuesday, January 7 / 1:00 to 2:00 pm

Mani Stone Painting Workshop

$10 for Members and Nonmembers

Mani Stones, also known as jewel stones, dot the Tibetan landscape. They are inscribed with mantras or devotional designs as an offering or a form of prayer. Often these stones are grouped together in piles or stacked to create walls to help celebrate and spread the faith and are believed to help aid in the manifestation of goals. In this Monk-led workshop, participants will create their own mani stones with prayers or symbols of personal significance.

 

Wednesday, January 8 / 1:00 pm

Pet Blessing

$25 per pet for Nonmembers and $5 per pet for Members

Meant to bestow good fortune and blessings upon furry family members, the pet blessing will imprint seeds of happiness for the animals. The mantras recited are for health and success in this life and the next ones. Bring your pet to the Garden and have them personally blessed by the monks. All animals must be under control at all times by a leash or crate. Pet tags for the Sacred Arts Tour will be available for purchase after the blessing for $5 each via credit cards only.

Note: Animals are not permitted inside the building for the Sacred Arts Tour.

 

Friday, January 10 / 2:00 pm until sold out

Momo Sale

One of the delights of the visiting monks are momos, a traditional “dumpling” in which a flour shell is carefully filled with a mix of veggies or beef, which are skillfully wrapped and steamed. They are believed to have originated in Tibet centuries ago and have become an integral part of Tibetan cuisine. Don’t miss this opportunity to take home delicious hand-made momos.

 

Saturday, January 11

Sacred Arts Tour Cultural Pageant and Final Closing Ceremony

General Admission: $30 for Nonmembers and $10 for Members (Garden admission is free with membership)

Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm

Morning ceremony follows the same practice as Monday through Friday.

• Cultural Pageant

Saturday, 12:00 pm

Experience ancient Tibetan cultural rituals, including the snow lion dance, good luck dance, monk dance, sacred chants, prayers, and monastic debate, bringing authentic Tibetan traditions to life.

• Closing Ceremony

Saturday, 4:00 pm

The closing ceremony includes prayers, chanting, deconstruction of the mandala, and sharing the blessed sand with those in attendance.

 

About the Monks of Drepung Gomang Monastery:

The Mission of the Monks is:

+ To share the message of compassion, often through interfaith sharing, helping create peaceful communities that work together toward World Peace

+ To provide a window into the ancient and precious Tibetan culture

+ To raise funds to educate, feed, house, and provide healthcare for the 2,000 Tibetan Buddhist Monks living in exile at Drepung Gomang Monastery in India.

 

The Monastery was founded in 1416 near Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Gomang College is the oldest of the four colleges of Drepung. Drepung Gomang Monastic University has produced many eminent Buddhist scholars and for many years has been a very important Tibetan Buddhist learning center. While each of the colleges of Drepung has its specialty, the focus of Gomang is philosophy, both logic and debate. For more information, visit www.DrepungGomang.org.

 

Mounts Botanical Garden & Bloomberg Connects

Explore Anytime, Anywhere with New Mobile Garden Guide

Visitors can now explore Mounts Botanical Garden anytime from anywhere across the globe with the new Mobile Garden Guide. Launched in partnership with Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and cultural app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the guide is designed to elevate and enrich the visitor experience by making it easy to discover more of what people love before, during, and after their visit to the Garden. Multi-media content includes maps and information on Mounts Botanical’s 25 display gardens, art in the garden, and current and upcoming exhibitions, as well as an ever-growing spectrum of new photo, audio, and video content available exclusively via the app. To learn more and download the app, visit www.mounts.org/mobile-garden-guide/ [mounts.org]. 

 

About Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County:

With a mission to inspire and educate through nature, Mounts Botanical Garden is Palm Beach County’s oldest and largest botanical garden. Visitors to this 20-acre tropical oasis will see an acclaimed collection of 25 unique garden areas containing more than 7,000 species of tropical and sub-tropical plants, including Florida natives, exotic and tropical fruit trees, herbs, palms, roses, cactus, bromeliads and much more. Mounts Botanical Garden is part of the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Department, in partnership with the University of Florida and the non-profit Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden. This project is sponsored in part by The Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council, and the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County. Mounts Botanical is located at 531 North Military Trail in West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit www.mounts.org.

 

Attached Jpegs:

(Photo Credit: Sacred Arts Tour – Drepung Gomang Monastery)

1.   The Sacred Arts Tour Monks Create a Sand Mandala

2.   Sand Mandala & Altar

3.   The Sacred Arts Tour Monks Closing Ceremony

 

Available for Interview:

Misty Stoller, Director of Marketing & Communications

Mounts Botanical Garden

954.292.8169 / [email protected]

 

Media Contact:

Gary Schweikhart, PR-BS

561.756.4298 / [email protected]