Last week, I was blessed and honored to witness the monks from the Drepung Loseling Phukhang Khamtsen Monastery, a Tibetan Colony in Southern India create and destroy a Sand Mandala at Cornell University. Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning “cosmogram (flat geometric figure depicting a cosmology)” or “world harmony.”  In Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism, it is said that wherever a Sand Mandala is created, all sentient beings and the surrounding environments are blessed. Whoever views the Mandala experiences profound peace and great joy. The colorfulness and harmony of the millions of sand particles in the Mandala give a powerful message that we can all live in peace if each of us works to create a little more space for others in our hearts. Children in particular, upon seeing the Sand Mandala, are left with a very positive imprint, which will germinate as sprouts of peace as they grow older

Throughout the creation of the Mandala, the monks pour millions of grains of sand from a funnel-shaped metal tool called the Chakpur. The funnel is filled with colored sand and is then scraped back and forth in order to release a fine stream of sand, creating a beautiful symbolic picture. The Mandala we witnessed symbolized compassion. In ancient times, powdered precious and semi-precious stones were used instead of sand. For example, lapis lazuli was used for the blue color, rubies for the red color and so on. The artists began at the center of the Mandala and worked outward.

I have always dreamed of experiencing the Sand Mandala but I have to say that I was not prepared for how deeply it would affect me. As I observed the creation of the Mandala and moved around the room so many emotions welled up inside me, when I stood in front of a picture of the His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, his expression of pure calmness and serenity moved me to tears. Mathew and was quite taken with the experience too and wanted to return the next day for the destruction of the Mandala.

I keep referring to the creation and destruction of the Sand Mandala, and you may be asking yourself, “Why destroy such a beautiful thing?” It is to remind us of the impermanence of life. All things have a beginning, middle, and an end. The closing ceremony was as beautiful as the creation of the Mandala. The monks chanted and then swept the colored sand together using circular brush stokes into the middle. We were blessed to take some sand home with us.

It is said, that the whole region, in fact the whole earth, is blessed by the creation and destruction of the Sand Mandala. I truly am blessed, having witnessed the sacred event. May peace prevail on earth.