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ROSEANNE PEREIRA: The house on Minnehaha Avenue, in Minneapolis doesn't look like a monastery. But inside, it sure sounds like one.

[MONKS CHANTING]

The five monks sit on the floor, in a row. They all have shaved heads and wear wine-colored robes.

[BELL RINGING]

The Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery opened in Minneapolis as part of the Dalai Lama's effort to preserve Tibet's culture in exile. The monastery serves the 1,500 Tibetans in the area, many of whom came here as refugees. Inside, tiny lit candles warm up a room full of gold statues, and wall hangings, and pinks, and reds, and blues.

On the front table stands a large picture of the Dalai Lama. In front sit piles of red apples, yellow bananas, and a tray of what looks like fist-sized Hershey Kisses with painted red tops. It's actually a mix of roasted barley flour, butter, nuts, and brown sugar. One of the monks, Lobsang Jungnes, explains the feast offering.

LOBSANG JUNGNES: So this is considered one of the Tibetans most delicious food. So that is why we offer the most delicious food to the gurus, and Buddhas, and so on.

ROSEANNE PEREIRA: The Minnesota monks offering the feast will soon be joined by visiting monks from Dharamsala, India. And together, they'll form the tantric choir. All the monks are originally from the same Gyuto monastery. The visitors hope to promote peace and harmony, fundraise for the healthcare of aging monks, and raise awareness about the continued Chinese occupation of Tibet.

Local Tibetans worry that as Beijing prepares for the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese government will gloss over its treatment of Tibetans. Tibetans here say only a few of the Gyuto monastery's 900 original members escaped Tibet and made it safely to Dharamsala. The others died or were imprisoned. Now the monastery is once again growing, but this time in India.

[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

Talking to the monks is a little bit like playing the game Telephone. You ask a question, and then down the row it goes, from the eldest. Tenzin Jampa Chosan, who's 82, to the one that speaks the best English, Lobsang Jungnes. The monks say that what the audience members get out of listening to the chanting will depend on their own motivation. But beyond that, they have one guarantee.

LOBSANG JUNGNES: Of course, definitely they're going to get blessings.

ROSEANNE PEREIRA: The first Tibetan in the Twin Cities was Thupten Dadak. He used to be a monk and still believes the way the monks live their daily practice of meditation can hold valuable lessons for Minnesota and for the world. The last time the Gyuto choir was in town, Dadak remembers the effect on the American audience. Some began crying. Others left the events and re-examined their lives.

THUPTEN DADAK: Listen the monks and going back is not rock and roll type of thing, when you listen and then you again kind of crazy. The monks chanting, once you have to receiving, reflects your own life.

ROSEANNE PEREIRA: Dadak feels that the Tibetan message of harmony and peace is somehow conveyed through the ancient chants. He can trace the chanting through childhood memories of his homeland.

THUPTEN DADAK: People who've been in Tibet, they will see sky totally different. It's like clear blue. And there is no even, you hardly see any cloud. All you can hear was the mountains and then the monks chanting. And then the underneath of the valley, Tibetan works on the field, and the dancing, and singing.

[MONK CHANTING]

ROSEANNE PEREIRA: And though they won't be in the mountains this month, they will be at the Basilica of Saint Mary on Saturday night and at other locations through the end of May. I'm Roseanne Pereira, Minnesota Public Radio News.

[MONKS CHANTING]