Meditation in Motion: Footprints to the Sublime

This unique exhibition of Vajrayana visionary dances presents the esoteric lineage transmitted by yogic masters, of the practice of sacred dance and its choreography, first experienced in their mystical visions and lucid dreams.

Many of these “Treasure Dances” originating over the past 1,200 years, are still practiced today in Bhutan, India, Nepal and China, in the provinces of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Sichuan and Qinghai. The exhibit will also pay homage to the Tibetan Master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, who has continued this ancient visionary tradition in the West through the Vajra Dances, which were transmitted to him in a series of lucid dreams he received during the 1990s.

The exhibition Meditation in Motion moves from the origins of dance in Tantric Buddhism, with the consecration of Samye Monastery in Tibet by Guru Rinpoche in the 8th century, and revisits the sacred dances of other “Treasure Revealers” (tertön) who have translated their experiences from vision into meditative practices. The exhibit explores how this tradition is still alive today in the contemporary marvels of a Tibetan Master, who has shared his own discovery of the Dance of the Vajra with Dzogchen practitioners around the world. 

The exhibition concludes with an overview of the Khaita Joyful Dances project also created by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, in 2011. "Khaita" means “Harmony in Space”. "Kha” means “space or sky”. “Ta” means “melody”. Over 300 traditional Tibetan folk dances have been reinterpreted as a simple and joyful way to experience inner harmony, which at the same time, is a practice for developing presence and awareness of the body, voice and mind, open and accessible to the public.

His study, choreography and translation of over 300 songs, today being performed by informal dance troops East and West, has also provided both the Tibetan community and others around the world, with an opportunity to re-evaluate the importance of this intangible cultural heritage, for all mankind. 

Exhibition Goal: to act as a testimony to the vastness of the meditative experience. Both in stillness and in movement, the timeless expressions of the primordial nature of the human spirit arises, as in the past, continuously and miraculously still manifests, before our fortunate eyes - today.

Objectives: to provide a historical and philosophical context in which to introduce the visitor to the experiences and discoveries of a contemporary Tibetan Master, and to his life dedicated to sharing his revelations and understanding, with his students around the world.