Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche has accepted a request from Sandup Chhorkorling monastery at Koksar to perform the sacred Gar Cham, Lama dance ceremony for Guru Rinpoche Day, August 26 2023. This event will attract thousands of devotees from the remote Himalayan region to it.

€10,800 is needed to help bring 100+ monks and costumes to this remote Himalayan region.

Rinpoche is personally inviting us to participate in this grand event. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime event for the Tibetan people of Koksar. Rejoice in this wonderful opportunity to participate. I sincerely thank you and rejoice together in being asked to help in Rinpoche’s ocean of dharma activity and merit. — Boon Ngoei

What is a Lama Dance?

Tibetan Meditative Dance, or Gar Cham, often referred to as “Lama dance”, is a ritual performance. Lamas and practitioners dance within the threefold meditative practice of deity, mantra and wisdom. These “dances” are not ordinary physical performances, but contain layers of profound meaning. Meditative dance displays the unfolding of enlightened activities and the participants have prepared through meditative training.

Meditative Dance: The Benefits for the Spectator

Meditative dance brings benefits to the spectator. Practitioners with faith and interest watch the dances and partake in their inner meaning. This presents a profound method of the vajrayāna path to receive blessings and purify ego-clinging. At the same time, some aspects of the dances also contain worldly activities of appeasing local deities and taming the negativity possibly present in the surrounding land.

By watching this performance, the spectators believe they are witnessing the display of ultimate truths. Moreover, they know they are planting the seeds for their own liberation. (By courtesy of Samye Institue)

Link to Koksar on Google Map