A chant rose up from 10 Tibetan Buddhist monks as the Aspen Institute opened its celebration of Tibetan art and culture on Wednesday. In red and orange robes and fringed crescent headwear, they stood behind a mandala sand painting taking shape grain by grain and intoned a deep and guttural sound that filled the room.

“Listen closely,” said Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, spiritual director of the monks’ Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta, Ga., as the crowd gathered around, sipping drinks and munching hors d’oeuvres.

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