Sand Mandala
Of all the artistic traditions of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, painting with coloured sand is one of the most exquisite. Mandalas are representations of the celestial mansion of one or more deities, who may be surrounded by their retinues, and other protectors. They can be thought of as representing both the external world and the internal world of the consciousness – and indeed the whole universe.
To make the mandala, millions of grains of coloured sand, ground from rock from the Himalayas, are positioned carefully in an elaborate design laid down in the Buddhist texts. Until 40 years ago, such an offering was rarely seen outside the monasteries. The complex and richly coloured designs have remained unchanged for over 500 years, the skills and secret meanings passed faithfully down through the generations from teacher to student.
The monks make these exquisite mandalas from memory, approaching the task within the framework of ceremonial Tantric ritual, and bringing to the process extraordinary patience and concentration. Once it has been completed and the accompanying ceremonies and viewing are finished a sand mandala is ritualistically dissolved to symbolize the transitory nature of material life.
The mandala that will be created during the monks stay at the Crystal Castle is called the mandala of Buddha Amitayus. Amitayus is the principal Buddha for overcoming the power that death and ignorance have over us. With these removed we can fulfill our true human potential - the achievement of pure happiness. The mandala is, in essence, a visualization tool, a symbol of a perfect world. Visualizing oneself in the center of this perfect world of the mandala is thought to create the conditions for us to behave towards others with kindness and compassion, which in turn, causes them to develop a similar outlook, so leading to the creation of such a perfect world.
Once the mandala is completed it will be dismantled, also in a highly ceremonial fashion. The sand is collected in a jar and carried to the nearest moving water where it is symbolically scattered and released back into nature. The creation of the mandala is a team effort and the monks will be working on it each day during their stay. In the past we have seen people return daily to observe the progress of this incredible work of sacred art.
