Day Fifty-Four- 2/23/11 Wittness Tibetan Monks Create a Sand Mandala (with Steampunk Bonus!)

Day Fifty-Four: 2/23/11

New Thing: Witness Tibetan Monks Create A Sand Mandala (with Steampunk Bonus!)

Inspiration: The Tibetan Lamas of Drepung Loseling Monastery, Connie

Cost: $0    

Time: All day   

Bottom Line: One of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

We were able to get this close!

Reflection: Today, Ken and I traveled to Penn State Berks Campus to wittiness Tibetan Monks paint a giant sand mandala. This is a very ancient tradition, and these mandalas are believed to have their roots in the Tantric legacy of Buddhist India, extending back some 2,500 years. The Tibetan Lamas of Drepung Loseling Monastery have toured all over the world to bring this art form to millions. Here is their description from their website:

From all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. In Tibetan this art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which literally means "mandala of colored powders." Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks. Formed of a traditional prescribed iconography that includes geometric shapes and a multitude of ancient spiritual symbols, the sand-painted mandala is used as a tool for re-consecrating the earth and its inhabitants.

These are the chak-purs and the different sand that they used

The lamas begin the work by drawing an outline of the mandala on the wooden platform, which requires the remainder of the day. The following days see the laying of the colored sands, which is effected by pouring the sand from traditional metal funnels called chak-pur. Each monk holds a chak-pur  in one hand, while running a metal rod on its grated surface; the vibration causes the sands to flow like liquid.    Traditionally most sand mandalas are destroyed shortly after their completion. This is done as a metaphor of the impermanence of life. The sands are swept up and placed in an urn; to fulfill the function of healing, half is distributed to the audience at the closing ceremony, while the remainder is carried to a nearby body of water, where it is deposited. The waters then carry the healing blessing to the ocean, and from there it spreads throughout the world for planetary healing. 

The Monks spend days (up to a month sometimes) working on these painstakingly intricate designs, only to destroy them at the end. I asked one of the monks about the ability to let go of such a piece of art that they had put so much into, and he replied, "if you cannot let go, you will never know happiness. In life, letting go of pain, jealousy, anger, and disappointment is the only way to know true happiness." In other words, if you can't let go of a little sand, what else will you be unable to let go of? It also strikes me as incredibly moving that the destroyed mandala itself becomes a source of healing--both for the crowd which is gathered to be with these monks in their journey, as well as the whole world when the sand is distributed in a natural body of water.  Healing as the fruit of death. (Sermon Spoiler!) We were so impressed that we bought a chak-pur and you many very well see that in an up-coming post. My one criticism of the whole thing was that they were set up in a very loud student lounge and it was hard to hear the monk speaking. However, it did not seem to bother them. They can let go in ways I cannot apparently.

Steampunk Ken

We then went downstairs where we visited the student art gallery. They were having a steampunk exhibit which was hands-on! Another new thing for the day! For those who are unfamiliar with steampunking, here is the shows description: "Steampunk is part science fiction, part alternate history. It features anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as people in the Victorian era may have envisioned them and highlights the Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architecture style, and art. A Steampunk wheelchair, a mechanical arm, robots, and ray guns are just a few of the objects featured." We definitely enjoyed this. 

Also, I tried a new kind of steamer---raspberry. Notice, this one did not make it into the headline for today. I steamer is simply hot, steamed milk with a shot of flavor (I normally have sugar-free vanilla, in order to literally have the most lame drink imaginable) but the only sugar-free option was raspberry. It was alright. PERHAPS, not the greatest thing that I was party to that day, but I will let you be the judge.