Tibetan culture, religion and history explored in Boulder
By Cat Carroll,
Losang Gyatso was surprised to see so many Tibetan prayer flags and “Free Tibet” bumper stickers when he moved to Boulder.
Gyatso, an artist who came to the city about a year and a half ago, welcomed a crowd to the second annual World Tibet Day Festival by explaining the meaning of the colorful flags and stickers that decorate so many porches and cars around town.
The flags, printed with Tibetan prayers, are meant to disperse prayers into the wind, he said. “They pray for the alleviation of suffering for all beings.”
For many Tibetans, that suffering has been caused by Chinese rule in their homeland, which has resulted in about 1.2 million deaths. China seized control of Tibet in 1949 after a brief period of Tibetan freedom that began in 1911.
World Tibet Day, founded in 1998 and now held in 59 cities around the world, began as a celebration of the Dalai Lama’s birthday. Tibet’s spiritual leader turned 69 Tuesday.
Boulder’s festival Saturday in Central Park was a way to teach people about Tibetan history and culture at the same time. The event included traditional prayer chanting led by Grammy nominee Nawang Khechog, booths from local Tibetan vendors and performances by several local artists.
Khechog, a flute player, is one of about 100,000 Tibetans — including the Dalai Lama — who fled the country to exile in India.
“By the time I was 6 years old, I was a Tibetan refugee in India,” he said, adding that his sisters and many other people in his family died because they weren’t accustomed to the extreme heat in India.
As an adult, Khechog moved to Australia and began performing music. In 1991, actor Richard Gere sponsored him to come to the United States and tour for a year, playing the flute around the country.
Khechog moved to Boulder 10 years ago.
“I think Boulder is one of the most active Tibetan communities in the U.S.,” he said. “We feel good about having a Tibetan Buddhist community here.”
As president of the Tibetan Association of Colorado, Gyatso was in charge of putting on the festival this year. His contemporary Tibetan art also was displayed in one of its tents.
It’s definitely all influenced by Tibetan stories, world views and myths,” he said of his paintings.
