FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tibetan traditions such as butter sculpture, a sand mandala and chanting on the Fayetteville square, all done by Tibetan monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery, will enhance a week of events surrounding the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Tibet Week 2011 will begin Wednesday, May 4, with the arrival of monks belonging to the Mystical Arts of Tibet.

An opening ceremony for the mandala construction, the fifth time one has been constructed on campus, will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, in the Walton Reading Room at Mullins Library, followed by the drawing of the line design for the mandala, with construction beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 5.

The word "mandala" is Sanskrit for "circle." These sacred designs are created by hand, grain by grain, using colored sand. Once created, mandalas are believed to be imbued with magical power, and are said to prolong life and protect against evil. Each traditional mandala design invokes a particular sacred offering, or prayer. The monks will construct the Avalokiteshvara or compassion mandala design to commemorate the visit of the Dalai Lama.

Concurrent with the mandala construction, Sonam Dhargye will conduct a live demonstration of the building of a traditional Tibetan Buddhist butter sculpture, which is considered a high form of Tibetan art, in the Walton Reading Room May 6 through May 11. He will work on the sculpture between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day. It is the first time a butter sculpture has been constructed at the university.

Butter sculpture is made from mainly butter and other mineral pigments. The size of the sculpture varies from several inches to several feet, covering a variety of subjects including deities, mandalas, flowers, animals and other Buddhist motifs. Traditionally, butter sculptures are displayed on monastery altars and family shrines as sacred offerings.

Two exhibits will also be on display in the Walton Reading Room of Mullins Library during the week. The first will be a display of photographs from Tibet by Sonam Zoksang and photographs of Tibetans in exile in India by Stephen Ironside. The second exhibit will be of ceremonial artifacts from Tibet, along with descriptions of their significance in the Tibetan culture. These exhibits may be viewed all hours the library is open. For a complete schedule, see the library hours.

The following is a list of events, free (with the exception of the Dalai Lama event) and open to the public, occurring during Tibet Week 2011:

• Wednesday, May 4
  
  • 2 to 2:30 p.m. – Mandala opening ceremony, Walton Reading Room, Mullins Library.

• Thursday, May 5-Thursday, May 12
  
  • 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Mandala construction, Walton Reading Room, Mullins Library.
  • During library hours – Exhibit of photographs from Tibet by Sonam Zoksang and photographs of Tibetans in exile in India by Stephen Ironside, Walton Reading Room, Mullins Library.
  • During library hours – Exhibit of ceremonial artifacts from Tibet, Walton Reading Room, Mullins Library.

• Friday, May 6
  
  • 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Traditional Tibetan Buddhist butter sculpture demonstration, in the Walton Reading Room through May 11.
  • 7 to 8:30 p.m. – “Sacred Music, Sacred Dance” by the Tibetan monks, a performance of chanting and a Black Hat dance, at the Arkansas Student Union Verizon Ballroom.

• Saturday, May 7
  
  • 6:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Mystical Arts of Tibet at the Fayetteville Town Center, featuring chanting by Drepung Loseling monks of the Mystical Arts of Tibet, local musicians, and Tibetan crafts offered for sale.
  • 11 a.m. – Official welcome by Mayor Lioneld Jordan and representatives from the University of Arkansas.

• Sunday, May 8
  
  • Noon to 6 p.m. – Tibetan welcome potluck picnic, Wilson Park, Fayetteville, hosted by the Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas. Bring a chair, musical instruments, and a dish to share.

• Monday, May 9
  
  • 6:30 p.m. – Lecture and photo exhibit of Tibet and Tibetans in exile by Sonam Zoksand and Stephen Ironside, Giffels Auditorium, Old Main.

• Wednesday, May 11
  
  • 9:30 to 11 a.m. – “Turning Swords into Plowshares: The Many Paths of Non-Violence,” a panel discussion with the Dalai Lama, Sister Helen Prejean and Vincent Harding, Bud Walton Arena. General admission tickets are still available for the panel discussion. Call the Walton Arts Center box office at 479-443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org.
  • 1:30 to 3 p.m. – “Non-Violence in the new Century: The Way Forward,” keynote address by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Bud Walton Arena. Tickets for the keynote address are sold out.
  • 6 p.m. – Tibetan Culture Institute of Arkansas fundraising dinner, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, fellowship hall (located on the corner of East and Dickson in Fayetteville). Cost will be a donation to Tutors for Tibetan Children, a program that provides after school tutors for exiled Tibetan children living in refugee camps in India.

• Thursday, May 12
  
  • 3 p.m. – Mandala closing ceremony, Mullins Library. Monks dismantle the Mandala, sweeping up the colored sands to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists. Half of the sand will be distributed to the audience; the rest will be carried in a procession by the monks, accompanied by the public, to Wilson Park, where it will be poured in Scull Creek, a ceremony meant to disperse the healing energies of the Mandala throughout the world.

About the Drepung Loseling Monastery:

Drepung Monastery was established near Lhasa, Tibet, in 1416. Of its four departments, Loseling, or "The Hermitage of the Radiant Mind," was the largest, housing more than three-quarters of Drepung's 10,000 to 15,000 monks. After the Chinese Communist invasion of Tibet in 1959 and the forced closure and destruction of its 6,500 monasteries, some 250 monks from Loseling rebuilt their institution in Karnataka State, South India. The number of monks presently in the Drepung Loseling has increased to more than 2,500. In 1991, the monks were invited to establish a seat in North America, establishing Drepung Loseling Monastery Inc. in Atlanta, Ga.

A nonprofit organization dedicated to the study and preservation of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of wisdom and compassion and a center for the cultivation of both heart and intellect, Drepung Loseling provides a sanctuary for nurturing inner peace, community understanding and global healing. In 1998 Drepung Loseling and its North American seat established academic affiliation with Emory University with the objective of promoting transcultural understanding and scholarly interchange.

In addition to its academic and spiritual programs, Drepung Loseling is committed to helping preserve the endangered Tibetan culture, which today leads a fragile existence in the exiled refugee communities in India and Nepal. In conjunction with Richard Gere Productions, it coordinates the Mystical Arts of Tibet World Tours and oversees the Drepung Loseling Educational Fund, a sponsorship program for the adoption of monks in training at Drepung Loseling Monastery. For information, visit the website at www.drepung.org.