Creation of a Sand Mandala

Monks from the Drigung school of Buddhism will construct a sand mandala over the course of five days, in conjunction with the opening of the Golden Visions of Densatil: A Tibetan Buddhist Monastery exhibition. The mandala sand painting is a sacred cosmogram representing the world in perfect harmony, and may be employed for focusing attention, as a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid to meditation. To create the mandala, the monks will draw a formal pattern on the base, using traditional iconography that includes intricate geometric shapes and a multitude of ancient spiritual symbols. The monks then place millions of grains of brightly colored sand to form the mandala, which represents the world in its divine form.

With support from Trace Foundation.