Recitation of Sacred Buddhist Texts in Ladakh Now on UN List

DECCAN HERALD

INDIA---The recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in India's Ladakh region has been added to a UN list of "intangible cultural heritage" by the world body's committee tasked with protecting the oral traditions, performing arts and social practices around the world. The 24-member Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has added 20 new items to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Referring to the Buddhist chanting, the committee said Buddhist priests in monasteries and villages of the Ladakh region chant sacred texts representing the spirit, philosophy and teachings of the Buddha. The monks wear ritual clothing and use hand gestures and various musical instruments while praying for the spiritual and moral well-being of the people, for purification and peace of mind, to appease the wrath of evil spirits or to invoke the blessing of various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, deities and rinpoches, it said. [link]