Westminster College to Welcome Tibetan Monks to Campus

Westminster College will host several Tibetan monks on campus from Dec. 1-3.

The monks are from the Gaden Lhopa Monastery, currently located in exile in India, and are led by the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. He will not be accompanying the monks.

While at Westminster, the monks will give an introductory talk on Buddhism Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the McKelvey Campus Center Lakeview Witherspoon room. Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. the monks will be at the Coffee House discussion in the McKelvey Campus Center student lounge. Tuesday evening they will talk about the Buddhist theory of mind at 6:30 p.m. in the McKelvey Campus Center Lakeview Witherspoon room. Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. the Monks will make an appearance at Faculty Forum in McKelvey Campus Center Theater.

When not conducting talks, the monks will construct a sand mandala representing the realm of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Chenrezig. This beautiful art work is an act of religious dedication, and takes approximately 10 hours per day over a period of three days to construct. The mandala will be ceremonially destroyed Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Orchard Street Café, located in the McKelvey Campus Center.

"This event will be the first in a series of bi-annual visits featuring representatives of the various religious traditions of today's world, and the people who study them," said Dr. Bryan Rennie, associate professor of religion and philosophy and the Vira I. Heinz Endowed Professor Chair. "The series, Religion and Religions' is funded by the Vira I. Heinz Professor Endowment."

All events are free and open to the public. For more information contact Rennie at (724) 946-7151 or e-mail brennie@westminster.edu.