Festival goers may turn to hallucinogenic drugs or alcohol for mind altering experiences this summer but a peaceful group of Buddhist monks will help you seek enlightenment through meditation.

To coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Tibetan Declaration of Independence, the Dalai Lama's monks will make an appearance at Glastonbury, bringing their Buddhist choral chanting to the fields of Somerset.

On June 27th (the Thursday), the Grammy-nominated group will perform and carry out Buddhist rituals by creating a Sand Mandala - a ceremony that symbolises the transitory nature of material goods - in honour of their special anniversary's coincidence with the world-renowned arts and music festival.

In their first visit to the UK in 40 years, the peaceful monks - the eldest is 78 - are looking forward to greeting the crowds at Glastonbury: spokesmonk Thupten Phuntsok said "We are honoured to be invited to take part in the world's premiere music and performing arts festival, at the spiritual centre of the site."

The group reside in the Himalayan mountains after they were exiled from Tibet after the 1959 Chinese invasion.

After having signed to a record label, the holy men are set to release new album entitled Chants: The Spirit of Tibet, recorded in their Himalayan monastery and produced by Killing Joke bassist, Youth, who says he's a big fan of the Gyuto's chanting: "The Monks exemplify, in their mystical chants, the essence of Tibetan Tantric Wisdom and the profound philosophy of the Dalai Lama. This is a musical system intentionally designed to alter your consciousness towards an illuminated and enlightened state."

Having toured the US with psychedelic rockers The Grateful Dead, the monks certainly aren't stage-shy - they'll grace the Glasto fields, bringing their philosophy of meditative enlightenment to scores of (probably) drug-addled punters in a festival that will welcome The Rolling Stones as main headliners.

Let's hope they bring willies and waterproof ceremonial robes in preparation for the mud - we'll see them in the queue for the portaloos. 

If you're a creative type who fancies working on the monks' new music video, Universal Music is looking for animators to contribute to track 'Taya Ta'.

 Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama Gives His Blessings Ahead of His Monk's Glasto Performance.