Banburyshire families prepare to host Tibetan monks on rare visit

Ten years ago the monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery visited Sibford at the invitation of Diana Hughes, whose connection with Tibet stems from her father’s time as medical officer in Bhutan and Tibet in the 1940s.

The monks were welcomed into the homes of Sibfordians, as they will be again from October 18 – 20. They will visit Sibford Endowed Primary School and they will give workshops and performances over the weekend.

At the Saturday evening performance the eight monks will evoke the atmosphere of sacred Tibet from the mesmerising chant of Buddhist texts to swirling, costumed, masked dances accompanied by ancient musical instruments – horns made from human leg bones, skull-drums, cymbals, bells and the great dungchen (long horns).

Thirty years after the filming of the renowned documentary Escape from Tibet, the producers and film crew will be reunited in Sibford with the two brothers, now British citizens, whose dangerous journey from the Roof of the World is told in the film. Using film clips and photographs, they will tell the story of how the film was made.

The monks will make a sand mandala – a geometric pattern made from coloured sand – in the village hall. The mandala will be destroyed with great ceremony on Sunday before they leave.

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is the seat of the lineage of the Panchen Lamas, second only in importance as spiritual leaders of Tibet to the Dalai Lama. The monastery was founded by the First Dalai Lama in 1447 in Shigatse, Tibet’s second largest city.

In 1959, with the Chinese Occupation of Tibet, only 250 of the 5000 monks were able to follow the Dalai Lama into exile. Tashi Lhunpo Monastery was re-established in in South India.

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery UK Trust was founded in 2003. It aims to develop awareness and facilitate access to the unique culture of Tibet with its tours, educational workshops and performances of masked dance and sacred chants.

For more information on this unique event, see https://thesibfords.uk/event/tlm. For tickets contact Diana on 01295 788214 or Ginny on 01295 780373 or email tlm@the sibfords.uk