Tashi Lhunpo Monks - The Power of Peace

Captain John Noel films, Climbing Mount Everest and The Epic of Everest brought moving images of the 1922 and 1924 British mountaineers, their sherpas and guides and the astonishing landscape of the Himalayas to western audiences for the first time. Furthermore Captain Noel invited seven Tibetan Lamas from Gyantse in Central Tibet to travel to Europe to provide a ‘prologue’ to screenings of The Epic of Everest on it's 1924/1925 tour. Now a hundred years later, monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery recreate the original prologue with the same magnificent instruments and distinctive music which so captivated audiences in the 1920s, followed by a live performance.

From the Tantric tradition of Tibet five monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in India bring the unique art of sand mandala making, using millions of grains of coloured sand to represent a Buddha’s earthly palace. Watch as the monks build up the intricate design of the Peace Mandala, memorised during years of study, from the first grain of sand to the final ceremony of the ritual dismantling of the mandala.

In The Power of Peace, performances of the sacred mantras, music and dance from the Monastery open a magical window on to a world of reincarnation and mysticism. From the mesmerising chant of Buddhist texts to swirling costumed masked dances accompanied by ancient Tantric musical instruments: horns made from human leg bones, skull-drums, cymbals, bells and the great dungchen (long horns), the monks evoke the atmosphere of sacred Tibet offering an experience of an ancient, endangered culture.