Despite the lack of a strong monastic base in New York, Tibetans do still come together to celebrate important holidays as a community, led by a few resident monks who are sometimes joined by former monks.

On a cold Sunday morning in January, over a 100 Tibetans gathered to celebrate the 820th anniversary of Sakya Pandita, the 13th century leader of the Sakya lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, was held at the Kasturi club in Long Island City, Queens. The Sakya school is the smallest of the four Tibetan schools.

"We are still the smallest school in America," said Lama Migmar, who has been the resident Sakya teacher in Cambridge, Massachussetts, for over a decade and came to give a teaching about Sakya Pandita, who was the first to unify all the regions of Tibet under a single rule in the 13th century, when Tibet was still treated as a tributary state of the Mongol empire. Sakya Pandita so impressed the Mongol court with his extensive knowledge that he was granteded control over Central Tibet, the U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo provinces, collectively known as Tibet.

To commemorate the anniversary of Sakya Pandita, hundreds of Tibetans gathered to pray, listen to the recitation of scriptures by local monks, and eat tsog or food that had been blessed by the monks.

Lama Migmar sat cross-legged on the floor of the stage, which was set up to look like a typical gompa or prayer hall in a monastery. He was joined by three other monks and two ex-monks wearing blue jeans and leather jackets who were familiar with the prayers and the ritual use of instruments, the cymbals and a large hand held drum.

At the center of the stage stood a large teaching throne covered in saffron silk supporting the photographs of three high teachers in the Sakya lineage. A golden statue of Shakyamuni Buddha and a glowing, pink plastic lotus had been placed above the photographs. Above the throne, large photographs of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and His Holiness Sakya Trinzin hung, accompanied by silk brocade thanghka paintings of Shakyamuni Buddha and green Tara.

As the monks and the technical assistant struggled with the microphones, people slowly filed in and did three prostrations before taking their seats.

The monks began by chanting the refuge prayers, the prayer which all Buddhist say every day to take refuge in the Buddha, his teachings, and the religious community, or the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The refuge prayer was followed by the four immeasurable prayers, the wish for all beings to have equanimity towards one another, have happiness, be free from suffering, and to be free from rebirth in the animal, ghost, or hell realms.

The monks then blessed the tsog, an offering of food that had been placed on an altar at the back of the stage and consisted of candies, crackers, and other junk food. monks chanted the Heart Sutra, which is chanted in all Buddhist monasteries, from Tibet to China to Japan and Sri Lanka. While the monks chanted the Heart Sutra, the Sakya lay practicioners sponsoring the event passed out sweetened rice with buttr and salty butter tea to the audience.

Since lay Buddhists usually don't memorize sutras, only a few audience members were able to chant along with the monks; others ran their thumbs over their malas, muttering the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.

It was a raucous affair. Some people talked on their cell phones or tried in vain to control their children.

Toward the end of the ceremony, more blessed tsog in the form of cookies and candies was dispersed throughout the audience, further fueling the hyperactivity of the children. The monks performed a Tara puja to the female Buddha and savioress and did a long mandala offering, in which one offers a mandala of a visualized, pure universe to all the Buddhas.

Dhamchoe Phuntsok praying for peace before an audience of museum goers at PS 1in Queens. PHOTO: Alexandra Alter

Finally, they concluded the ceremonies with a dedication of merit, which all Tibetan Buddhists recite as a way of confirming their promise to work for the welfare of all sentient beings, and with prayers for the Long Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Sakya Trinzin Rinpoche. Everyone in the audience, which had slowly multiplied to fill the club, joined in for the long life prayers, with the exception of a young boy who refused to be torn away from his Game Boy.

The large turnout was surprising given that the Sakyas are the least well represented in America, but can perhaps be explained by Tibetans' ability to overcome sectarian differences in the West, where they are unified by their religion and politics.
Jikme Thubten, one of the monks performing the ceremony, explained that Tibetan Buddhism has become much more unified as a result of the Chinese attempts to eradicate it.

"'Before, in Tibet, maybe there was some problems between the four schools, but now, everyone is following the Dalai Lama," Thubten said.