The audience gave a standing ovation to a Chinese Buddhist music troupe at the conclusion of their concert tour Sunday night in the Masonic Center.

"Beautiful, the music is fascinating," said Lewis Lancaster, president of the Los Angeles-based University of the West.

He said the Chinese Buddhist music is worth public performances because it is good not only to the spread of Buddhism but also to the understanding of traditional Chinese culture by the American people.

This is the second and last performance staged in the United States by more than 130 monks from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Last Sunday, the troupe made another hit in Hollywood when the Kodak Theater, home to the Oscar film award ceremony, was fully packed and audience gave waves of applause to the monks' performances.

During the two concerts, the monks staged both traditional and modernized Chinese Buddhist music as well as Shaolin Kungfu, a unique form of martial art in Shaolin temples in central China's Henan Province.

Buddhist music, which originated in ancient India, found its way into China some 2,000 years ago. After absorbing elements of traditional Chinese folk music, court music and other religious music, a unique form now called Chinese Buddhist music came into being.

The monks of the troupe come from prestigious Buddhist temples including Guang Shan in Taiwan, Laboleng Temple in northwestern Gansu Province, General Temple in southwestern Yunnan Province, representing the three branches of Buddhism in China, namely Chinese Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and Pali Buddhism.

"I am not a Buddhist follower, but I like the music, it's serene and peaceful," said a local resident surnamed Catherine who practices meditation.

Venerable Shenghui, chief of the troupe and vice president of the Buddhist Association of China, said that Buddhism prays for harmony, tolerance and peace, and the performance is meant to spread the tenets in the world.

"The first batch of Chinese to America landed in San Francisco some 300 years ago, and since then, Chinese have made great contributions to the prosperity of America," said Venerable Hsing Yun, honorary chief of the troupe and founder of Fo Guang Shan.

He said that the Buddhist music performance will further promote the cultural exchange between China and the United States.

Since February, the troupe has toured Kaohsiung, Taipei, Macao and Hong Kong before it arrived in Los Angeles. The troupe will leave for Vancouver, Canada, on Monday to conclude its global tour.
 
(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2004)