**Four Tibetan monks will spend three weeks beginning Wednesday in Lincoln City, in Yachats and Newport during their “Compassion, Wisdom and Enlightened Action Tour.”** (Photo courtesy of Metabolic Studio)

By ELIOT SEKULER/Oregon Coast TODAY

Tibetan sacred rituals, music, workshops, meditation sessions and the intricate creation of mandalas will be featured in a broad interfaith program as four saffron-robed Buddhist monks visit four central coast towns beginning this week.

Each stop on their journey will offer a unique mix of events.

The three-week “Compassion, Wisdom and Enlightened Action Tour,” runs Wednesday through Sunday, Feb. 11-15 in Lincoln City; continues in Yachats from Feb. 17-22; and concludes in Newport from Feb. 24 through March 1. The monks will also make a special appearance in Waldport on Sunday, Feb. 22.

Organized by the Lincoln County Friends of Tibet, the coastal visit is part of a six-month-long tour across the western United States with a three-fold objective.

“One key purpose for the tour is to provide a way for Tibetans to share their culture and to help keep that culture alive,” said Friends’ co-founder Tripp Mikich. “Tibetan Buddhism is integral to Buddhist culture; they’re one and the same thing.”

A second purpose is to share the teachings of the Buddha.

“The third reason for this tour is fund-raising — to raise money for the maintenance of the monks’ monastery,” said Mikich, who listed a variety of projects ranging from the construction of classrooms and dormitories to providing medical services to monks and students visiting the monks’ home at Gaden Shartse Monastic College in South India.

Although admission to all of the tour’s events is free, donations are welcomed.

Gaden Shartse Monastic College currently serves 1,800 resident students at its site in the south Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of two states that provided a refuge to Tibetan refugees who fled their country following the 1959 uprising against Chinese occupation and the violent crackdown on Tibetan culture, religion and autonomy.

The refugee communities in India and other scattered communities, led by Tibet’s revered spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, have labored to preserve it and undertakings such as the monks’ tour play a role in that preservation.

**The monks will be holding special ceremonies during their visits in Lincoln City, Yachats and Newport including the include the creation of the sand mandalas.**

Special presentations

As they make their way along the coast, the four monks will be offering presentations at each stop.

“We structured the three stops to present a progression of experiences and teachings that begin with the most basic understanding of Buddhism — the Four Noble Truths,” Mikich said. “As the tour progresses, we’ll offer programs that take it a step further.”

Among the highlights is the Vajradan Healing and Purification Ceremony, a ritual for cleansing negativity, taking place only during the monks’ five-day visit at the Lincoln City Cultural Center.

The Yachats Commons will be the site of a Tibetan New Year celebration.

“This will be an incredibly special visit,” said Charlene Marchi, coordinator of the Yachats event. “People will be moved by what they see.”

In Yachats, special ceremonies marking the Tibetan New Year, or Losar, will be performed during the first three days of the monks’ visit. These will include the creation of the sand mandalas, cultural presentations, healing rituals and presentations. Some special evening ceremonies that are traditionally performed during Losar will be presented only in Yachats.

All events are walk-up with no ticket required but with a suggested donations beginning at $10 for mandala viewing only.

The five-day visit in Newport at the Samaritan Center for Health Education will include a Lojong Tibetan Mind Training session. Also in Newport, the monks will serve momos, Tibet’s famous stuffed dumplings to guests at a Monks and Momos fund-raising dinner. A butter sculpture demonstration will be held at Newport Public Library.

The tour will venture to Waldport for a lunch event, followed by a guided meditation.

At each stop, the monks will hold guided meditations and will create sand mandalas, the intricate, geometric designs that require between 75 and 125 hours of painstaking effort to create.

Each of the tour sites will feature a different mandala, representing the celestial palace of specific deities. The process of creating the mandalas will continue throughout the stay at each site and will be open to the public.

“We have people who come and just sit in the room for hours to watch them,” Mikich said.

Following the completion of each mandala, the monks will hold a dissolution ceremony in which the carefully crafted mandala is ritually swept into a pile of sand which, in turn, is poured into the ocean as an offering to the beings of the sea and as an act of purification for the surrounding environment. The ritual creation and dissolution of the mandala symbolize the core Buddhist principle of the impermanence of all worldly things.

Beyond the immediate objectives of the tour, Mikich has a personal goal.

“I hope it will open people up to new things,” he said. “I hope it inspires people to open their hearts to a wider range of experiences that’s not limited by our constant pushing away at the things we don’t like or grasping at the things we like.”

For a schedule of all events and a more detailed description of all events on the monks’ tour, go to www.lcfriendsoftibet.org or call 530-748-9365.

Lincoln City Cultural Center

Wednesday, Feb. 11, 6:30 p.m.: Green Tara Sand Mandala opening ceremony;
Thursday, Feb.12, 6:30 p.m.: Vajravadaran healing and purification ceremony with audience participation;
Friday, Feb. 13, 10 a.m.: Four Noble Truths: The Buddha’s first teaching;
Friday, Feb. 13, 6:30 p.m.: Green Tara empowerment for enlightened action and compassion;
Saturday, Feb. 14, 10 a.m.: Butter sculpture workshop and Tibetan calligraphy demonstration (all ages); 7 p.m.: Tibetan Cultural Night: Chöd ceremony, chant and music, monastic debate and audience Q&A;
Sunday, Feb. 15, 10 a.m.: Meditation workshop with the monks (all experience levels); and
Sunday, Feb. 15, 4 p.m.: Green Tara sand mandala dissolution ceremony

Yachats Commons

Tuesday, Feb. 17, 6 p.m.: Avalokiteshvara sand mandala opening and Heart Sutra puja;
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 6 p.m.: Tsok offering for wisdom and overcoming obstacles;
Thursday, Feb. 19, 6 p.m.: Green Tara puja for compassionate action and enlightenment;
Friday, Feb. 20, 10 a.m.: Lojong Tibetan mind training;
Friday, Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m.: Avalokiteshvara empowerment ceremony for great compassion;
Saturday, Feb. 21, 10 a.m.: Butter sculpture workshop and Tibetan calligraphy demonstration (all ages); 6:30 p.m.: Tibetan Cultural Night: Chöd ceremony, chant and music, monastic debate and audience Q&A; and
Sunday, Feb. 22, 4 p.m.: Avalokiteshvara sand mandala dissolution ceremony.

Waldport

Sunday, Feb. 22: St. Luke By the Sea Episcopal Church: 12:30 p.m.: Lunch with the monks and peace and compassion guided meditation.

Newport

Newport Public Library: Saturday, Feb. 28, 11 a.m.: Butter sculpture workshop and Tibetan calligraphy demonstration.

Samaritan Center for Health Education

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 6:30 p.m.: Manjushri sand mandala opening ceremony;
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m.: Lojong Tibetan mind training;
Thursday, Feb. 26, 6:30 p.m.: Chay Drol ceremony for well-being and removing negativity;
Friday, Feb. 27, 10 a.m.: Aging, death and rebirth from a Buddhist perspective;
Friday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m.: Tibetan Cultural Night: Chöd ceremony, chant and music, monastic debate and audience Q&A;
Sunday, Feb. 29, 10 a.m.: Eight Verse mind training; 2 p.m.: Manjushri empowerment ceremony; 4 p.m.: Manjushri sand mandala dissolution ceremony;