Tibetan Sand Mandala I
Tibetan Gaden Jangtse monks huddle over the creation of a sacred sand mandala, an intricate centuries-old meditation motif made from millions of brightly coloured sand grains. The Gaden Jangtse monks are now centred at Gaden Monastery (Jangtse College) in Mundgod, Karnataka, India.
The monastery moved from its original site in Gaden (near Lhasa, Tibet’s religious and administrative capital) to its present location in southern India following the 1959 Chinese occupation of Tibet. The settlement of Tibetan refugees living in exile around Gadan may be the largest of its kind in India today.
Underlying the creation and ultimate dismantling of the sacred sand mandala is the essential Buddhist doctrine of impermanence and the notion that all existence is in a constant state of flux. The Tsengdok Monastery Association describes it as follows:
“Mandalas are drawings in sand of the world in its divine form and represent a map by which the ordinary human mind is transformed into the enlightened mind. The creation of Sand Mandalas takes place over four to seven days, beginning with special prayers and chanting ceremonies. They work all day placing sand practically grain by grain as they create these incredibly rare forms of art and faith ... Upon completion of the Mandala the monks hold a dismantling ceremony whereby the Mandala is blessed a final time and the grains of sand are swept up into a pile – erasing the once beautiful work of art. Some of the sand is given to people present, as a small blessing for their home or gardens, and the remainder is taken to a nearby body of water where it is poured into the moving water which carries the prayers and blessings throughout the earth.”
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved. explore#53
Tibetan Sand Mandala I
Tibetan Gaden Jangtse monks huddle over the creation of a sacred sand mandala, an intricate centuries-old meditation motif made from millions of brightly coloured sand grains. The Gaden Jangtse monks are now centred at Gaden Monastery (Jangtse College) in Mundgod, Karnataka, India.
The monastery moved from its original site in Gaden (near Lhasa, Tibet’s religious and administrative capital) to its present location in southern India following the 1959 Chinese occupation of Tibet. The settlement of Tibetan refugees living in exile around Gadan may be the largest of its kind in India today.
Underlying the creation and ultimate dismantling of the sacred sand mandala is the essential Buddhist doctrine of impermanence and the notion that all existence is in a constant state of flux. The Tsengdok Monastery Association describes it as follows:
“Mandalas are drawings in sand of the world in its divine form and represent a map by which the ordinary human mind is transformed into the enlightened mind. The creation of Sand Mandalas takes place over four to seven days, beginning with special prayers and chanting ceremonies. They work all day placing sand practically grain by grain as they create these incredibly rare forms of art and faith ... Upon completion of the Mandala the monks hold a dismantling ceremony whereby the Mandala is blessed a final time and the grains of sand are swept up into a pile – erasing the once beautiful work of art. Some of the sand is given to people present, as a small blessing for their home or gardens, and the remainder is taken to a nearby body of water where it is poured into the moving water which carries the prayers and blessings throughout the earth.”
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved. explore#53