A group of Tibetan Buddhist monks will be singing and praying for world peace in State College tonight. But their mission is to do more than save the world -- they also want to raise awareness of the situation faced by Tibetans living in exile in India.

The concert, "Sacred Music, Sacred Dance for World Harmony," will be performed at 7:30 p.m. today in the State College Area High School South Building auditorium, 650 Westerly Parkway. The show features 10 Tibetan Buddhist lamas, who are currently on a world tour, said Mary Lou McNichol, State College Amnesty International coordinator.

Amnesty International members hope the concert will increase awareness of the current situation in Tibet, McNichol said.

The monks live in India, having escaped their own country because there was no religious tolerance in Tibet, said Sandy Newhouse, the director of the nonprofit Jefferson Tibetan Society of Charlottesville, Va., which is sponsoring the monks' tour.

The monks are from India's Drepung Loseling Monastery, the largest monastic institution in recorded history. It was rebuilt in India after the monks left Tibet following an attempted coup by Chinese communists in 1959. During that period, more than 6,000 monestaries were destroyed and more than 1 million people died, Newhouse said.

Many people do not know about the situation in Tibet because of close American ties with China, she added.

"No one wants to jeopardize those relations," she said.

The monks began touring in 1988 to foster awareness of their situation, Newhouse said.

The concert will draw from traditional temple music and masked dances, McNichol said, adding that the songs are believed to generate energies conducive to world harmony.

The monks are trained in multiphonic chanting techniques -- each singer is able to sing all the notes of a chord. The monks also play traditional Tibetan instruments, including cymbals, bells, drums and long-horn trumpets.

The type of music is called jok-kay, which means "power language," Newhouse said. It can help evoke a peaceful meditative state, she added.

Amnesty International was able to get the monks to perform locally because they were passing through Central Pennsylvania between concerts, McNichol said. Tickets are on sale for $10 each at Svoboda's Books, 227 W. Beaver Ave., Blue Train Compact Disk, 418 E. College Ave., The Daily Grind, 107 E. Beaver Ave., the Alternatives Library in Willard Building and at the door.

The monks will also hold a question/answer session at noon today at the Alternatives Library juice bar in Willard Building. The head lama will also conduct a guided meditation at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County, 780 Waupelani Extension.