Monks work on sand mandala
A GROUP of Tibetan monks will celebrate Nelson Mandela’s centenary through a Buddhist Sand Mandala Art Exhibition in three cities in SA.
To promote peace, the Tibet Society in Durban and the Office of Tibet, in association with Lamrim Buddhist Centre and other local partners, are organising Sand Mandala Exhibition in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban from September 26 to October 21.
Three monks from the Drepung Monastic University in India will create a sacred sand painting that symbolises universal boundless compassion.
They will work tirelessly over a number of days, applying millions of grains of coloured sand onto a mandala design. Once the sand mandala is complete, the grains of sand are swept up and tossed into the sea or a river, culminating in a blessing ceremony symbolising impermanence, compassion and peace for the benefit of all sentient beings.
A sand Mandala is a Tibetan Buddhist artistic tradition, involving the creation of a spiritual symbol representing a cosmic universe of celestial bodies, made from coloured sands.
In addition, two distinguished members from the Tibetan Medical and Astro Institute in Dharamsala, India, will accompany the monks.
These include a traditional Tibetan doctor and a Tibetan astro-science practitioner, who are available to give private consultations and talks on wide-ranging topics.
Local representative of the Office of Tibet in SA Klasie Wessels said: “Usually four monks work side by side to create this two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional ideal universe. This painstakingly time-consuming procedure is a very rare sight to see and the monks will construct the sand mandala design of Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion, to generate strong compassionate and peaceful energy,” Wessels said.
The cultural exhibition is scheduled at the following venues:
In Cape Town at the Simon’s Town Museum from September 26 to 29.
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In Johannesburg at the Origins Centre Museum, Wits University from October 2 to 7.
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In Durban at the Denis Hurley Centre from October 15 to 21.
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