Tibet Festival in Thailand Gets Underway [Saturday, 6 March 2010, 5:30 p.m.]

Bangkok:
A five-day “Festival of Tibetan Spirituality, Art and Culture – From
Himalayas to Chaophya River”, the first of its kind, kicked off
yesterday at 6 pm (local time), 5th March 2010, at Thailand’s Bangkok
Art and Culture Center (BACC).Hours before the inaugural
function, group of old women, who were all Chinese, came in front of
the venue to disrupt the opening ceremony. When asked, they seem to
have no idea what is going on and simply gathered here following
telephone call from the Chinese Embassy. However, later on they did
make some slogans but we manage to settle it peacefully, Tenzin Losel,
an event coordinator said.Ajarn Sulak Shivaraksha, Director of
the Sathirakoses-naga Pradipa Foundation, formally inaugurated the
festival amid hundreds of visitors.In his three minutes special video
message to the festival, His Holiness the Dalai Lama thanked the
organisers and people of Thailand for their support and highlighted
that both Thai and Tibetan people share the same teachings of Lord
Buddha.

Nineteen
artistes from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, 7 monks from
Gudmey Monastery in Hunsur, South India, 2 doctors from the Tibetan
Medical & Astro Institute and Geshey Dorjee Damdul from the Tibet
House, New Delhi, took part in the festival.  The festival
showcases every aspect of Tibetan art, culture, music and Buddhism,
which includes cultural performances and demonstration of sand mandala
and butter sculpting, sacred Thangka (scroll) painting and film screenings.Kalon
Tempa Tsering and Kasur Jestun Pema were to preside over the festival
but couldn’t attend since they were denied visa to visit Thailand. The festival, organised by the Sathirakoses Foundation, the Din Sor See Foundation and BACC, will run till 10 March.–Report filed by Tenzin Losel from Bangkok, co-ordinator of the festival