Roof of the World

Presented by Tibetan Monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery

Founded in Shigatse, Central Tibet by the First Dalai Lama in 1447, Tashi Lhunpo is the seat of the Panchen Lamas. It is one of the four great monasteries of the Gelugpa (or Yellow Hat) tradition and is renowned for its scholarship in Mahayana Buddhist philosophy and the Tantric tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959 and the Cultural Revolution from 1966–80 wreaked destruction on the great monastic institutions, including Tashi Lhunpo, which lost many of its precious scriptures, statues and images. Of the 6,000 monks in the monastery, only a few were able to follow the Dalai Lama into exile. Twenty senior monks undertook the perilous trek across the Himalayas to India, and in the early 1970s, under the patronage of the present Dalai Lama, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery was re-established near Mysore in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The monastery is now home to over 400 monks, and has regained its reputation as an important centre for learning and for the preservation of the culture and traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

Monks from Tashi Lhunpo have toured extensively, playing to capacity audiences in theatres, arts centres and at festivals worldwide. Highlights include Glastonbury Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and WOMAD. They also regularly work throughout the UK and have toured throughout Europe.

The Monks have recorded a number of critically- acclaimed albums including Dawn Till Dusk (2008), Time of the Skeleton Lords (2010), Wisdom & Insight (2012), 17 Golden Greats (2014) and Calm Abiding (2019). They have also helped to bring enlightenment to smartphones and tablet computing with a set of Eight Auspicious Ringtones (iPhone/Android) featuring ritual Buddhist instruments from antiquity.

Social media links
https://www.facebook.com/tashi.lhunpo.monks

To find out more and get a flavour of the amazing sound from the ‘Roof of the World’, watch the short video documentary at https://youtu.be/DF4Qgv6kbJ8