Tibetan Buddhist Art and Culture Week at University of California Irvine
Geshe Norbu distributes sand from the mandala.
NEARLY ONE THOUSAND guests came to meet Tibetan Buddhist monks visiting from the Gaden Shartse Monastery in India during Tibetan Buddhist Art and Culture Week, March 6-8, 2008 at the University of California, Irvine. The event featured lectures on Tibetan Buddhism and a children’s butter sculptures workshop, but the main draw was the creation and dissolution of a ceremonial Sand Mandala, formed to bring divine blessing and convey compassion to the crowds. The three-day event, supported by various groups including the ICWT, attracted different audiences each day from students and faculty to school-age children and community members.
Special thanks to Bibi and Duyet Do for their contributions to this story.
[Rest of this story, including a photo slideshow of the event, continues below. Adobe Flash Player required for slideshow. Click here for the download.]
The Sand Mandala is an intricate diagram composed of various bright colors of sand. The monks, working alone or small groups, rub one metal funnel lined with ridges against another to direct the sand out of the funnel’s point, thereby filling the lines of a design already sketched on a flat surface. The mandala represents the palace of the deity; in this case, the Buddha of Compassion, who according to Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, will come to the residence and bring blessings to those who view the mandala. Afterward, the mandala is wiped away, destroyed to signify the temporary nature of life. “We believe that everything that comes to this world is impermanent. No one can escape birth and death, happiness and unhappiness cannot stay. The principle of the impermanence phenomena raises awareness for us to contemplate on the things that happen to us and will help us go through life easier,” explains Bibi Do, lead organizer and academic personnel analyst in the Department of History. Do worked to bring the monks to UCI after she visited the monastery in India in March 2006.
In addition to bringing awareness of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy to the UCI community, the monks came with hopes of raising funds for their new hospital which serves both Tibetan refugee and neighboring Indian village populations. Although its construction is complete, the hospital remains empty save a few beds and patients due to a lack of sufficient equipment, supplies, and adequate staff. The hospital does not receive financial assistance from the Indian government so the goal is to raise $200,000 USD. “There is no other hospital available for such a very large area,” states Do, “I told the students helping at the event that with only $20 each month, they could support one person in India for one year. All they need to do is just save from not going to one dinner.”
THE LIFE CYCLE OF A SAND MANDALA
Historically, the “sand” used for the mandala was formed from precious gems crushed into fine grains. Thus, mandalas were only created during special occasions. Bibi Do, the eloquent and soft-spoken organizer of the Tibetan Buddhist Art and Culture Week, relates that the process of the sand mandala “is like preparing your home for visitors. You have to cook and clean, then tidy up after the guests leaves.” The mandala acts as a palace in graphic form, compelling the deity to visit; in this case, the Buddha of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara (pronounced ah-vah-lo-key-tesh-vah-rah), the emanation of whom the Dalai Lama is believed to be. “We chose Avalokiteshvara because compassion is key to everything.” According to Do, worshippers who train themselves to meditate for many years can see the mandala in three-dimensional form.
Opening and closing ceremonies mark the sand mandala process. “When we finish [the mandala], the deity will come and if we are sincere, we can purify a lot of negativity just by looking at the mandala. We accumulate negativity day-by-day and it builds up, so with mediation and prayer, the effect of unfortunate things that happen to us will be less. It’s karma,” says Do.
After the sand is wiped away, the monks give departing guests a bag of sand, which is a blessing from Buddha. The monks then instruct guests to keep the sand in a nice place in their homes, or take the sand to the ocean or lake and disperse it to bless the environment.
Links – http://www.humanities.uci.edu/icwt/fromheretothere/tibetanmonksvisit.html
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