GOINGS ON : Sound Wash : Some say letting the chants of Tibetan monks envelop you is a transcendental experience. See for yourself on Saturday.

Just don’t call it Tibetan Monks Tour ’91.

Saturday’s UC Santa Barbara appearance by the Gyuto Monks Tibetan Tantric Choir is not really a performance. As Dan Smith, UCSB’s associate dean of international students and scholars, said, it is more of a “sharing.”

The 21 monks, representatives of the Gyuto Tantric University in Dharmsala, India, will share some of their Buddhist ritual chants at Campbell Hall beginning at 8 p.m. These Tantras are highlighted by the apparent ability each monk has to sing three notes at once.

But technical excellence is not what this show is all about. It’s mostly a spiritual experience.

“Essentially, the chants have to do with destroying hate and transforming it to creative wisdom,” Smith said. “They are chants for peace. They are chants basically to try to safeguard the well-being of all sentient beings on the planet as well as the environment in which they live.”

Smith said the monks’ chants are excerpts from special ceremonies that can last as long as four days. To fully appreciate them, he said, audience members should try to let themselves be enveloped by them.

“The idea is to listen to the full range of the chords, to try to relax and to try to breathe deeply and let the sound wash over you--really feel it in your bones,” he said.

But Smith said even if that doesn’t occur, just hearing the chants is quite an experience. “It’s remarkable just to hear the sound,” he said. “You can go to a lot of guitar concerts or flute concerts, but I think this is the only place you can hear this sound. Some feel just by listening to the chanting they have been uplifted and healed of problems they had experienced beforehand.”

Choir members also play the cymbals, drums and 12-foot-long bass trumpets.

The show will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14, $12 and $8. Call 893-3535. The choir’s visit to UCSB is part of a series of Tibetan events designed to bring attention to the ancient culture in this International Year of Tibet. Tibetan art, including a sand mandala in progress, will be on exhibit at the University Art Museum through Dec. 15. There will be a lecture titled “The Tibetan Buddhist Sand Mandala: The Art of Tantric Ritual” Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Girvetz Theater.

Were it not for the Tibetan events on campus this week, the UCSB entertainment and lecture schedule would be dominated by detective novelist Raymond Chandler and his private eye Philip Marlowe.

A Chandler tribute kicks off tonight with a showing of the 1944 Edward Dmytryk film, “Murder, My Sweet,” based on Chandler’s novel “Farewell, My Lovely.” Dymtryk is scheduled to be on hand to discuss the film. Show time is 8 p.m. at Campbell Hall. General admission is $5. The film is being shown in conjunction with Friday’s Chandler symposium at Girvetz Theater beginning at 3 p.m. Admission is free.

Also on Friday, the Theatre Arts Group will present “Pearls and Marlowe,” a play based on Chandler’s early novels. Friday’s performance at the Studio Theatre is sold-out, but the show will continue Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and Nov. 19-23. General admission is $10. For more information on any of these events, call 893-3535.

Pianist Betty Oberacker will be featured in Emma Lou Diemer’s “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,” in the Santa Barbara Symphony’s concert Saturday night at the Arlington Theater. Diemer, the symphony’s composer-in-residence, will be a focal point herself, when she plays the Wurlitzer organ in Saint-Saens’ “Symphony No. 3.” Yardumian’s “Armenian Suite” will round out the show. Tickets are $13.50 to $21.50. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. For $30, the symphony will throw in a 6:30 p.m. pre-concert party and a post-concert gathering. The Arlington is at 1317 State St. For reservations for the concert and party, call 965-6596. For concert tickets only, call 963-4408.

Reptile will be the word of the day Saturday at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Education Center, where Philip and Barbara Brown will lead a family-oriented class called “Snakes Alive.” The husband and wife team will talk about reptiles in general and the aforementioned slithery variety in particular. Class size is limited and participants are asked to register in advance. Call 682-4711 as soon as possible. The museum is located at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road.

If you’re looking for art exhibits, the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum (CAF) is the place to visit these days. There are two shows continuing through Dec. 23--”Artists Chose Artists,” which highlights the works of lesser-known local artists, and “Addictions,” featuring various interpretations of “any persistent behavior which is destructive to well-being.” CAF is located at 653 Paseo Nuevo, second floor. It is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Fitness instructors from the Santa Ynez Valley will get together Sunday at the Sheraton Royal Scandinavian hotel in Lompoc to raise money for a group called U.S./U.S.S.R. Link. This nonprofit organization was founded by Alexandra Williams, a fitness expert herself who also led fund-raising efforts after the Painted Cave fire and the Loma Prieta Earthquake. Guests are invited to take part in a low-impact aerobic-funk-step class beginning at 12:30 p.m. A $15 admission fee gets each participant a T-shirt. The Sheraton is located at 400 Alisal Road. For information, call 688-3761.