Search - Gyume Monks :: Sacred Tibet: Chants of the Gyume Monks

"Deep baritone chanting with resonant harmonics filled the studio as the monks offered strictly structured chants invoking the thirty-eight Tantric deities for protection and self-generation." -- Boston Globe "Eight Tantric Buddhist monks from the Gyume monastery--founded in Tibet in 1433 and relocated to India in 1959, following the Chinese invasion of Tibet--performed Wednesday and Thursday at the Samaya Foundation ... The nearly guttural low notes are topped by clear but ghostly chords ... Alone or accompanied, the monks create an astonishing sound, one that seems to fill the entire frequency spectrum with benevolence." -- New York Times "Tantric chanting is a sacred and spiritual discipline. This recording is an important historical event. It is an invitation to transformation." -- Shaman's Drum "The monks have graciously shared their powerful mantras and musical wizardry. Their `one-voice chording' gives each monk the ability to chant three notes at once for a transcendent musical experience." -- Yoga JournalThis is the first studio recording of the H.H., the Dalai Lama's Gyume Monks' master of Tibetan tantric harmonics. The Gyume Tantric College and its ritual musical traditions were founded in Lhasa, Tibet in 1433. It is the oldest Tantric monastery in Tibet. All proceeds from sales go to benefit the monks of the Gyume monastery. Founded over 500 years ago, the monks at this monastery have been chanting using a special "one voice chording" technique, which gives each monk the ability to chant three-note major chords. This special technique, which requires years of vocal training and deep concentration, evokes awe and reverence, transfixing the mind of the listener as well as the chanter. This historic CD represents the first time monks from this auspicious tantric college were recorded in a modern recording studio. The two thirty-minute mystical mantras are profoundly spiritual rituals for transformation. "Guhyasamja" is a tantra of self-initiation, and "Kalarupa" is an invocation to the Dharma Protector associated with the Gyume Monastery. Produced by Jonathan Goldman, whose Tibetan Master Chants by Lama Tashi was nominated for a 2006 Grammy for Best Traditional World Music. As the monks perform these sacred ritual chants with visualization and appropriate symbolic hand gestures, they unify themselves with the consciousness of the deities and channel their blessings to all living beings.