Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN0325424920070910
TRES COROAS, Brazil (Reuters Life!) - The voices chanting the ancient Tibetan Buddhist mantras have a trace of a bossa nova lilt. Meditation sometimes has to wait until after a game of soccer.
High in the mountains of Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state lies the Chagdud Gonpa Khadro Ling (Buddhist center) -- "the sacred place of the sky dancers" in Tibetan.
It is the only place in Latin America dedicated to the Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava, who established Tibetan Buddhism in the Himalayas in the 8th Century.
About 60 Brazilians and foreigners live in the community about five miles from the city of Tres Coroas, and thousands more visit each year.
For many of them, it is a peaceful alternative to the violence and stress of life in Brazil's big cities.
Among a magnificent complex of statues, temples and palaces, they pray at the beginning and end of each day for compassion and the well-being of mankind.
They also meditate for hours, or go off on retreats that can last months. Books, music and sports, especially soccer, are the entertainment but only after the daily routine is done.
The center -- in the world's largest Roman Catholic nation -- is dedicated to Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. It was founded by Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (1930-2002), who fell in love with Brazil after fleeing from occupied Tibet via the United States.