From Saratoga Sand: Mandala created, returned to earth

SARATOGA SPRINGS - It could take an entire lifetime - several in fact - for a person to experience the level of artistic beauty, religious significance and human diligence that will be performed in a series of events at Skidmore College this week.

Eight Tibetan monks of the Gaden Jangtse Tsawa Khangsten monastery in South India are visiting the Skidmore campus as part of their 2002 North American tour.
Their goal is to share awareness of Buddhist traditions and gather funds for the completion of their prayer hall in Mundgod, India.

One of the focal points of the monks’ visit is construction of a sand mandala at the Tang Teaching Museum and Gallery. The “mandala” - a translated sanskrit word meaning “center and periphery” - is a circular design, incorporating geometric shapes and images of deities and cosmic forces in a symbolic universe.

This Manjushri mandala (“He who is Noble and Gentle”) will be ritualistically constructed with the detailed laying of sand, grain by grain, using thin copper funnels, or sprinkled with the fingers.

The sand mandala will take four days to create, after which it will be ceremoniously destroyed and returned to the earth at Skidmore’s Haupt Pond.
The monks’ four-day residency at Skidmore features lectures, performances of ritual ceremonies and demonstrations of mystical arts.

Joel Smith, associate professor of philosophy, is introducing Wednesday’s lecture.
“We hope that it is educational for students as well as for the general public,” said Smith, who is also chairman of ASIA Network’s board of directors.
“It (the mandala) is also a work of art, one in which people can appreciate beauty, religious meaning and a way of becoming more aware of those people in exile,” he said.

Life in exile has been a major part of Tibetan life since 1959.
The monks’ original home was built on a vast piece of Tibetan mountainside near Lhasa in 1409 and housed as many as 6,000 monks at a time.
But in 1959, Tibet was overtaken by the invading Communist Chinese Army and most of the monasteries were ransacked.
Ancient scriptures were burned, many Tibetans were killed and their monasteries destroyed.
The few hundred monks who escaped fled to South India and began rebuilding.

Today, the Gaden Jangtse Monastery is home to 1,400 monks between the ages of 6 and 80. A new prayer hall is under construction.
More than 10,000 nuns and monks attended the consecration ceremonies in December, performed by His Holiness The Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
This touring group of eight monks was chosen specifically for their talents in the ritual arts.
The group is composed of a Head Lama, a Tibetan medicine doctor, and masters of dance, chant, ritual, music, mandala and painting. A translator is on hand to provide interaction with the public.

The monks are staying at Falstaff’s on the Skidmore campus for the duration of the week. They may be seen walking to and from the Tang Gallery during construction of the mandala.
The first public event of the week begins at The Tang at 7 p.m. Monday, with a colorful performance of chanting and music during the opening “Ceremony for World Peace.”

The sand mandala may be seen in the early stages of construction.

A demonstration of butter sculpture - generally made using yak butter, or a vegetable butter called “ghee,” fat and wax - has been arranged and will be part of the festivities.
The project and its programs are free and open to the public.

On Thursday morning, the completed sand mandala will be destroyed during a ceremony at The Tang from 9 to 11 a.m. after which it will be returned to the earth.

by Thomas Dimopoulos
The Saratogian, 2002.