Oak Grove hosts Tibetan monks
by Ellen Sklarz Shapiro

Do you have scooters, televisions, restaurants and mountain lions? According to the teachings of Buddha, what is the nature of creativity? Does reincarnation happen to ordinary people or just to monks and the Dalai Lama?
Those were some of the questions posed by a variety of Oak Grove School students to eight, warmly receptive, Tibetan monks who visited the school on Tuesday.
Last March, this group of monks traveled from Gaden Jangtse - a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in south-central India - to begin a tour of North America. Hosted by schools, museums, churches, prisons and private homes, the monks share cultural, political and spiritual debates, practices and talents. Spreading a message of world peace and compassion, the tour also calls attention to the plight of those who have been fleeing from Tibet since 1959, marking the insurrection against Chinese occupation.
Oak Grove students, from preschoolers to high school seniors, sat amid the oaks at the 150-acre school's outdoor pavilion for a colorful program of dance, chanting and debate. Everyone then gathered to observe the creating of an elaborate, geometrically designed sand mandala symbolizing harmony and compassion. When the monks visited the classrooms - in now-familiar, burgundy-and-gold robes and shaved heads - one of the translators, Sonam Tsephel, asked students to appreciate everyday liberties that others throughout the world are often denied.
Seven-year-old Jasper's mom is Sooz Glazebrook, a parent at the school who wandered over to the pavilion. "I loved how the interactions were so spontaneous and human it didn't feel staged," she said. "This kind of day felt like a natural extension of the larger Oak Grove community I really appreciate that this can happen at this school."
Peter Thielke, Oak Grove's program director, helped bring the monks to the school. "In addition to a strong academic foundation, Oak Grove places equal importance on understanding our psychological lives," said Thielke. "Students are encouraged to investigate the nature of their own thinking and conditioning, to become aware of image-making, prejudice and opinion, and to look into how we separate ourselves from one another. Bringing the Tibetan monks to Oak Grove enriches the students' global understanding of our world and breaks down barriers; but it also helps them see that other human beings are looking seriously into fundamental questions of life.
"The founder of Oak Grove, the late Jiddu Krishnamurti, often said, 'You are the world, and the world is you.' Our hope is that our students begin to understand their deep connection with this planet and to each other and, in so doing, embody a responsibility based on love and compassion. The presence of these gentle, sweet monks helped say this in its own beautiful way."
And for seventh-grader Savannah Horwood - who found this special day at Oak Grove to be "different and interesting" - the highlight for her was playing soccer with the monks.

Ojai resident Ellen Sklarz Shapiro has been a journalist and editor for numerous magazines and newspapers. With experience that began with New West magazine, she was a feature writer and editor for the Los Angeles Times, contributing regularly to the Sunday "Book Review" and creating the weekly "Discoveries" column. She was also founding editor and columnist for L.A. Style magazine. With partner Michael Shapiro, Sklarz founded Treshold Productions, Inc., an independent film production company committed to producing movies about people and institutions having an affirmative impact on the world.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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