A recording of sacred Tibetan Buddhist chants by Tibetan monks from a monastery near Dharamsala, India, is one of the nominations for the 46th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which were announced in Beverly Hills, CA, on December 4, 2003.
Sacred Tibetan Chant: The Monks Of Sherab Ling Monastery (Naxos World) was nominated in the category “Best Traditional World Music Album (Vocal or Instrumental)”. This audio CD was released in January 2003 and costs US $ 9.90.
The CD includes Buddhist chants, Mahamudra Lineage Prayer & Meditation, Mahakala Puja (Yeshe Gonpo), Invocation and offering to Mahakala, and Receiving blessings and dedicating the merit to world peace and harmony. It presents the lineage prayer with which the monks of Sherab Ling Monastery begin their day, offering respect to a line of great meditation practitioners going back as far as the seventh century. It also includes part of each day’s closing ritual in which the monks ask for purification and dedication to all sentient creatures. These ceremonies originated in the Buddhist monasteries of Tibet, and have been brought by the devoted practitioners to India where they continue this ancient tradition.
Sherab Ling Monastery is the seat in exile of the Tai Situ Rinpoche, an eminent lama in the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery is located in the Kangra Valley near Dharamsala.
Monks who participated in the recording include senior chanting masters Kalzang Yeshe, Norbu Gyaltsen, Tinley Gyurme, Namgyal; chanting masters Yeshe Gyatsal, Tsultrim Ozer, Lodro Gyaltsen Dawa, Phurpa Dorje, Tenpa, Dawa Rinchen, and Sonam Yarphel.
The 46th GRAMMY Awards will be held on Sunday, February 8, 2004, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. “Our voting membership highlighted truly outstanding nominees,” said Neil Portnow, President of the Recording Academy. GRAMMY nominations ballots for the next round of voting will be mailed on December 11, 2003 to the voting members of the Recording Academy. They are due back to the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche by January 7, 2004, when they will be tabulated and the results kept secret until the telecast.