Dorje Drak Monastery Ritual and Dance Documentation

After successfully documenting and publishing a documentation of the Obstacle Clearing Ritual from the Mani Recitation practices in 2019, Core of Culture was invited to return to document the entire ritual and dance ceremonies of a three-week great ritual at Dorje Drak monastery in Simla, India.
 
The Obstacle Clearing Ritual documentation by director of photography Jonathan Greet was an unprecedented record of an ancient tantric ritual with existing documentation of any kind, relying solely on oral transmission. Successfully documenting the three-week great ritual would be another new achievement and assistance to the cultural memory of the monks and the continuity of ritual transmissions.
A young monk learns the finer techniques of making a sand mandala. Dorje Drak Monastery, 2019. Photo by Jonathan Greet.
A young monk learns the finer techniques of making a sand mandala. Dorje Drak Monastery, 2019. Photo by Jonathan Greet.