Spirit of Tibet comes to Bondi

The yellow-hatted Gyuto monks of Tibet will be back in Bondi on January 19 for a two-week expo of Tibetan Buddhism sponsored by Waverley Council.

A highlight of the Gyuto Monks’ Sydney tour will be Tibet’s Timeless Tantric Tradition, an intimate photographic exhibition by Bondi photographer Tobi Wilkinson.

Wilkinson has spent the last year documenting the lives of the monks from the Gyuto Monastery of Tibet. Her exhibition captures the essence of the Gyuto Monk community, showing the simplicity and happiness they bring to everyday tasks and how this stands in stark contrast to the harsh conditions they live in and the complex situation they find themselves in as refugees from their homeland, Tibet.

“My work has taken me all around the world, however this has been by far the most humbling experience of them all,” Wilkinson said.

“Meeting, observing and spending time with the Gyuto Monks has been life altering for me. Their peace and wisdom is profound.”

And in amongst these fine artistic images, the monks will offer morning chants, lunchtime meditation sessions, talks, a Jab Khru healing ceremony and hands-on workshops with the monks creating unique works of art

The monks will once again create a beautiful Sand Mandala over the period of the courses and the culmination of the expo will be the dissolving of the mandala in a sacred ceremony on their final day when the sands will be returned in a procession to the waters of Bondi Beach.

Tibet’s Timeless Tantric Tradition photographic exhibition by Tobi Wilkinson can be viewed every day from 10am -5pm, January 19 to 31, at the Bondi Pavilion Gallery.