Canberra, 15/02/2015
Last weekend Canberra once again hosted the Australian National Multicultural Festival, which is an annual event where people from diverse ethnicity and nationalities participate to present their own unique culture and traditions.
The Tibetan presence at the festival on 13 and 14 February attracted many visitors, both at the Tibet Cultural Centre’s stall as well as at the ACT Tibetan community stall which sold delicious momos, Tibetan style dumplings, a favoured national dish.
The Tibetan Cultural Centre Ltd (TCC), an undertaking of the Tibet Information Office (TIO), and various Tibetan associations based in Australia, presented traditional Tibetan Buddhist ritual objects, prayer flags, Tibetan appliques (Thangka) etc. Visitors got to learn more about Tibetan culture and religion, the activities of the TCC and TIO. Information on the Shugden cult, which had received much public attention last year, was provided to educate the public on the true nature of the cult. Visitors were also introduced to the Blue Book Project, an initiative supporting Tibetan communities in exile.
Ven. Thubten Khedup and Ven. Kunchok Rinzin travelled from Melbourne to create a beautiful sand mandala, which drew in a lot of interest from the public. Two workshops on sand mandala creation also enjoyed high popularity.
Sand mandalas are created with coloured sand and ritually destroyed after completion, symbolizing the Buddhist doctrinal belief in the impermanence of life.
The two monks also engaged in chanting and prayers for the peaceful co-existence of all beings, for kindness and compassion. Once again, the Tibetan presence at the Multicultural Festival showcased Tibetan culture, religion and food to a record of 280,000 visitors this year, thereby spreading the message of the peaceful struggle of the Tibetan people.
Anica Niepraschk, Tibet Information Office, Canberra