Buddhist Monk Featured in Scorsese's 'Kundun', 4/27

BRYN ATHYN, PA - Glencairn Museum will bring together and showcase traditional art and artisans from diverse religious traditions during its annual Sacred Arts Festival Sunday, April 27 1 to 5 p.m.

Visitors will experience religious art in the making and witness craftspeople using ink, glass, stone and paint to create unique expressions of faith. Attendees may also try their hand at painting stained glass or getting a temporary henna tattoo. Other activities include manuscript illumination, tower exhibits and glassblowing with Jason Klein, who created glass works for the films "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Hobbit."

"Kundun" Movie Lecture & Tibetan Buddhist Sand Mandala
The pre-festival begins on Earth Day, April 22, with a lecture and Q&A by Venerable Lama Losang Samten about the 1997 Oscar-nominated film "Kundun." Samten was featured in the movie and was the first Buddhist monk given permission by the Dalai Lama to build Mandalas in the West. The movie, directed by Martin Scorsese, chronicled the life of the 14th Dalai Lama. Doors open at 3:45 p.m.

Samten will begin the step-by-step process to make a traditional sand mandala on Wed., April 23. Sand mandalas are an ancient art form where intricate designs are created with colored sand then ritually dismantled once completed. Public viewings of the mandala-creation run daily through Saturday from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Admission to Lama Samten's lecture by donation ($10 suggested), and daily mandala-building is free.

For more information visit www.glencairnmuseum.org or call 267-502-2600.

Glencairn Museum is located at 1001 Cathedral Road, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Located just outside Philadelphia, Glencairn Museum is a part of the Bryn Athyn Historic District, a National Historic Landmark since 2008 (bahistoricdistrict.org). The District includes Pitcairn family residences father John Pitcairn's Beaux-Arts mansion, Cairnwood Estate, and son Raymond's Glencairn and the renowned Bryn Athyn Cathedral. All were constructed between 1892 and 1939. Today, Cairnwood serves as an educational, cultural and hospitality center, Bryn Athyn Cathedral remains a place of worship for the New Church, and Glencairn houses a museum of religious art and history.