The Tibetan art of sand mandala takes at least three days of carefully arranging specks of sand into intricate patterns. When it is finished, it only takes minutes to be swept away.
It might be hard to believe that anyone would exercise the patience it takes to create these vibrant sand paintings known by Buddhist monks as mandala, only to have them taken apart soon after. But from 10 a.m. yesterday until Wednesday afternoon, students can witness the mystic process with their own eyes in the Union Gallery at Stamp Student Union.
Sponsored by Student Entertainment Events, monks representing Drepung Loseling Buddhist monastery in Atlanta, Ga., will be spending hours in silent concentration working on an art they’ve spent five to seven years studying in Southern India. When completed, they will collect the sand and pour it into a flowing body of water, symbolizing the release of healing energies into the world.
The opening ceremony of the sand mandala started yesterday at 11:30 a.m. The monks wore bright yellow and scarlet robes with headgear like golden mohawks. They chanted in deep, guttural tones, seeking permission from the local spirits to construct the mandala. Their instrumental music was abrupt and loud, to say the least.
Still, a few students closed their eyes throughout the ceremony, saying that they connected to what they saw as a spiritual event.
“I think it’s wonderful to bring spirituality from another part of the world to here,” said junior government and politics major Kesha Butler, who closed her eyes during the chanting to better concentrate. “The energy of the chanting brings something out in me.”
The Tibetan sand mandala is a Buddhist tradition that the monks believe aids in the healing process and is an important spiritual element in resolving world conflicts. Every design has a specific meaning – the one being constructed in the Student Union represents unshakable energy, said Tenzin Phenthok, the group’s spokesman and a monk himself.
The monks, handpicked by a monastery committee, travel throughout the world for one or two years continually making mandalas, destroying them and spreading their healing energies wherever they go by allowing the sand to disperse in nearby water.
It may seem like a thankless task, but the creators of the craft see themselves as healers, Phenthok said.
“They are very interested to make contributions for world healing, to make contributions for world peace,” he said. “They are very much determined – it is a hard job.”
In fact, mandalas personally commissioned by the Dalai Lama were created in Oklahoma City after the Oklahoma City bombings, in New York and Washington after the Sept. 11 attacks and in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. This ancient practice is the Buddhist way of offering comfort and healing in the wake of tragedy.
The monks start by drawing a complex grid of straight lines and circles in chalk on a five-by-five foot blacktop table using only compasses and string. With precision and a gentle touch, they use the grid to draw the images that add up to create a mesmerizing labyrinth of curves and shapes.
Next, they each use a thin metal funnel, called a chakpur, that pours the sand out into thin lines that they can form into patterns inside the guidelines to look similar to embroidery or layer colors to create complex spectrums of reds, oranges, blues and yellows. The chakpur has a ridged side, and the monks coax out the grains by running a small rod up and down the ridges like a washboard. The result is a florid wheel of colors and traditional Buddhist symbols intended to invoke the good will of deities.
“I really like the idea of the focus and the discipline it takes,” said Sky Fernandez, a sophomore computer science major. “They seem to all know what to do, and each one of them has the technical skill to execute it. It’s really impressive.”
Because the monks work with sand, any mistakes, such as an involuntary twitch, can be potentially catastrophic to the delicate arrangement.
“Everywhere we go, people want to know what we do if we make a mistake,” Phenthok said.
The only way to correct errors is to use the chakpur to suck the stray grains out of the mandala and then try to do it over. However, there isn’t much anyone can do if one of the monks sneezes on the table, Phenthok said.
Sophie Trinh, a junior education and mathematics major, felt that the mandala ceremony was a great opportunity for university students.
“It’s not something you see every day,” she said. “It’s a great way to learn about other cultures and open your mind.”
Fernandez was just happy to finally lay eyes on one.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to see a mandala,” he said. “I’ve seen videos online, and my dad told me about them … I’m glad I finally got to see one in person.”
The monks are accepting donations on behalf of Drepung Loseling. The monastery is still paying off loans from the renovation of their temple last fall, estimated to cost about $2.8 million.
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