September 12, 2000 Summary Facts:
As the opening event in their first international tour, Korean Buddhist Monks will share excerpts from Young San Jae, the largest of all Buddhist ceremonies and one unique to Korea. Their performance titled The Sound of Ecstasy, The Nectar of Enlightenment will occur on Tuesday, October 17 at 8 p.m. in UCSB Campbell Hall. In conjunction with this event, UCSB Arts & Lectures has arranged with The Faculty Club to offer a buffet dinner of Korean food before the performance. Audience members may enjoy dinner at 6 p.m. followed by an easy stroll across campus to Campbell Hall for the concert. Reservations and payment for dinner are required by October 10 and may be made directly with The Faculty Club by calling 893-3096. Young San Jae, when performed in its entirety, is an elaborate event lasting three days. Like the ceremony that inspired it, this performance will include offerings of flowers, fragrances, music and sacred dance in honor of Buddha. In the past, the complete ceremony was performed nationwide in Korea to commemorate both joyful occasions and disastrous events. During the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) under the Yi Dynasty’s policy of suppressing Buddhism in favor of Confucianism, most ceremonial rituals disappeared and Buddhist monks were banished to remote mountain monasteries. Fortunately, some monks, like Venerable Song Am Park, maintained and preserved complete ceremonial procedures while in exile. As part of a body of traditional arts unique to Korea, however, Young San ceremony was nominated in 1973 for preservation as a Korean Intangible Asset. Since then, it has been performed annually at Bongwon Temple in Seoul. The ensemble of seven monks on this tour is led by the Venerable Dong Hee, the first female to join the pomp’ae monks lineage. For nearly 40 years she has trained in the performance of Young San ceremony under the tutelage of the Venerable Song Am Park. She has also studied ancient records and documents to restore the original form and colors of the vestments worn by Buddhist monks, including the flowing robes seen in this performance in rich blues, reds, white and black. Venerable Dong Hee has personally prepared each of the ritual objects used in this ceremony. The introduction of Buddhism to Korea in the fourth century A.D. inspired the creation of Buddhist ritual songs and dances. Monks specialize in several styles of ritual chants (pomp’ae)—invocations or recitations of Buddhist sutras to the accompaniment of hand bells, elaborate chants, as well as simpler, more brief chants. As one of the most important forms of Korean vocal music, it is similar to Western Gregorian chant because it is comprised of simple melodies free of rhythm or harmony. It also shares with Gregorian chanting the tradition of being passed orally from teacher to student. Buddhist ritual dance (chakpop, literally translated: “creating the dharma”) originated during the time when Buddhism was undergoing suppression. It consists of three parts: the “butterfly dance” with its winged costume; the “cymbal dance” performed with a small cymbal and used to glorify and make offerings to Buddha; and the “Buddhist drum dance,” which older monks interpret as a way to instruct the evil-minded in the ways of Heaven and to save creatures from suffering in hell. For Young San ceremony, an enormous portrait of Buddha is set up in a temple courtyard. Before the portrait stands a large altar laden with offerings of food and flowers. Nearby a huge barrel drum is set on a stand and several monks play large gongs and wooden clappers as they chant. This event is one of only two California stops the monks will make on this tour; the other is at UC Riverside on Wednesday, October 18. The monks’ tour will also take them to The John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Symphony Space in New York City. This event is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures as part of a tour made possible by The Korea Society, the leading private, nonprofit organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea. The Korea Society arranges timely, informative and stimulating programs in the areas of business, public affairs, education, intercultural relations and the arts and collaborates with museums, theaters, community organizations, schools and universities throughout the U.S. For tickets or more information, Editor: For photos, please call |