Coming Next Week:
Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County to Host
Sacred Arts Tour Monks, January 22-27, 2024
(West Palm Beach, FL – January 16, 2024) Coming next week: Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden will welcome the Sacred Arts Tour Monks of Drepung Gomang Monastery, a Tibetan monastery in Karnataka State, South India, for six days of special events and experiences, Monday through Saturday, January 22-27, 2024.
These soul-stirring experiences that week at Mounts Botanical Garden will include:
- Daily Opening & Closing Ceremonies
- Sand Mandala Creation
- Mala Making / SOLD OUT
- Pet Blessings
- Authentic Tibetan Cooking Class & Dinner with Monks / SOLD OUT
- Cultural Pageant & Final Closing Ceremony
Workshops and activities will be led by the tour monks. Registration is required, space is limited.
“Proceeds from the Sacred Arts Tour help the monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery to raise support for the refugee monks’ community in south India for proper food, improvement in health and hygiene, and for providing better education facilities for the monk students to preserve their traditions and culture,” says Mounts Interim Co-Director Misty Stoller.
For complete details on the Sacred Arts Tour taking place next week at Mounts Botanical Garden, visit https://www.mounts.org/sacred-arts-tour-drepung-gomang-monastery/
January 22-26
Sacred Arts Tour General Admission
Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 3:30 pm
$25 per day for Nonmember Adults; $18 for Nonmember Children (includes Garden admission); $5 per day for Members (Garden admission is free with membership).
Tickets may be purchased in advance online or the day of the event at the Welcome Center.
Join Mounts Botanical Garden in welcoming the monks from the Drepung Gomang monastery who are renowned for the Sacred Art of Sand Mandala Construction. They will be creating an Avaloketeshvara Sand Mandala (Chenrezig), which is the Buddha of generating compassion, love and peace. Construction of a mandala of this size and intricacy takes 5-7 days to complete with multiple monks working on it for 5-6 hours a day. Each day’s events include opening ceremonies and informal conversation with the monks as the mandala is created. Before and after working on the mandala each day, the monks recite prayers in the traditional overtone chanting, with each monk singing a full chord of three notes. The prayers are often accompanied by delicate hand gestures, cymbals, drums, horns, and flutes. General Admission includes full access to the Sacred Arts Tour mandala making, prayer ceremonies, and the Tibetan Marketplace for the day.
Opening Ceremony begins at 10:00 am each day.
Closing ceremony begins at 3:00 pm each day.
To purchase tickets, please visit https://www.mounts.org/events/2024-01/mounts.org.
January 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
Authentic Tibetan Marketplace
Monday – Saturday, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
The Sacred Art monks of Drepung Gomang bring with them Tibetan merchandise with Buddhist religious symbols and mantras. Much of the merchandise is made by the monks living at the monastery and helps to support those studying there with living expenses and medical care. Full-day access to the Authentic Tibetan Marketplace is included with your general admission ticket. All proceeds from the marketplace go directly to the monks of the Drepung Gomang Monastery.
January 27
Sacred Arts Tour Cultural Pageant and Final Closing Ceremony
General Admission: $30 for Nonmembers Adults $23 for Nonmember Children (includes Garden admission); $10 for Members (Garden admission is free with membership)
Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm
Morning ceremony follows the same practice as Monday through Friday.
- Cultural Pageant
Saturday, 12:00 pm
Experience ancient Tibetan cultural rituals, including the snow lion dance, good luck dance, monk dance, sacred chants, prayers, and monastic debate, bringing authentic Tibetan traditions to life.
- Closing Ceremony
Saturday, 4:00 pm
The closing ceremony includes prayers, chanting, deconstruction of the mandala, and sharing the blessed sand with those in attendance.
To purchase tickets, please visit https://www.mounts.org/events/2024-01/mounts.org
January 23
Mala Making with Sacred Arts Tour Monks / SOLD OUT
Tuesday, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Workshop only: $10 per person (does not include Garden admission)
Mala beads have been around for over 3,000 years and are rooted in Buddhism. They are used as a spiritual accessory and to help you focus your mind during meditation. This workshop is fun for adults and children with adult supervision. The tour monks will explain the use of the mala and guide participants in creating your own wrist mala. All supplies are included in the workshop.
To register, please visit https://www.mounts.org/events/2024-01/mounts.org
January 24
Pet Blessing with Sacred Arts Tour Monks
Wednesday, 1:00 pm
$5 per pet; human companion’s admission to the garden is $20 for adults and $13 for children. Free admission for members.
*Please note: Animals are not permitted inside the building for the Sacred Arts Tour.
Meant to bestow good fortune and blessings upon your furry family members, the pet blessing will imprint seeds of happiness for the animals. The mantras recited are for health and success in this life and the next ones. Bring your pet to the Garden and have them personally blessed by the monks. All animals must be under control at all times by a non-retractable leash or crate.
Pet tags for the Sacred Arts Tour will be available for purchase after the blessing for $5 each. Credit Cards only.
To register, please visit https://www.mounts.org/events/2024-01/mounts.org
January 26
Authentic Tibetan Cooking Class & Dinner with Sacred Arts Tour Monks / SOLD OUT
Friday, 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Cooking class starts at 5:30pm; dinner 7:00pm – 9:00pm
$115 per person. Cooking class and dinner is limited to 30 adults.
Eat, relax, and have fun. Learn traditional Tibetan food preparation and cooking techniques with a hands-on experience making Momos, Naan and Thenthuk with the monks. Casually socialize and eat dinner with the monks as you have a night filled with amazing authentic Tibetan food you helped to prepare. Don’t worry about language differences, sharing food is universal and requires little conversation. End the night with a prayer ceremony and house blessing. This is a-once-in-a-lifetime experience and spots are extremely limited, so reserve your seats early. Adults only please.
To purchase tickets, please visit https://www.mounts.org/events/2024-01/mounts.org
Also Available at Mounts Botanical Garden
ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN
Created by Santa Fe artists Jennifer and Kevin Box, 20 larger-than-life sculptures inspired by the ancient Japanese art of origami will emerge skyward throughout Mounts—each one a stunning merger of art and nature enhancing and celebrating the verdant environment, including 25-foot sculpture representing 1,000 stainless steel origami peace cranes. ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN opensat Mounts January 7 and runs through May 12, 2024. Admission is $20 for adults; $18 for seniors (65+), college students, and military with ID; $13 for ages 6-17; and free for children under 6.
Mounts Botanical Garden & Bloomberg Connects
Explore Anytime, Anywhere with New Mobile Garden Guide
Visitors can now explore Mounts Botanical Garden anytime from anywhere across the globe with the new Mobile Garden Guide. Recently launched in partnership with Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and cultural app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the guide is designed to elevate and enrich the visitor experience by making it easy to discover more of what people love before, during, and after their visit to the Garden. Multi-media content includes maps and information on Mounts Botanical’s 25 display gardens, art in the garden, and current and upcoming exhibitions, as well as an ever-growing spectrum of new photo, audio, and video content available exclusively via the app. To learn more and download the app, visit www.mounts.org/mobile-garden-guide/ [mounts.org].
About Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County:
With a mission to inspire and educate through nature, Mounts Botanical Garden is Palm Beach County’s oldest and largest botanical garden. Visitors to this 20-acre tropical oasis will see an acclaimed collection of 25 unique garden areas containing more than 7,000 species of tropical and sub-tropical plants, including Florida natives, exotic and tropical fruit trees, herbs, palms, roses, cactus, bromeliads and much more. Mounts Botanical Garden is part of the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Department, in partnership with the University of Florida and the non-profit Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden. This project is sponsored in part by The Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council, and the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County. Mounts Botanical is located at 531 North Military Trail in West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit www.mounts.org.
(Photo Credit: Sacred Arts Tour – Drepung Gomang Monastery)
- The Sacred Arts Tour Monks
- Sand Mandala with the Sacred Arts Tour Monks