Sand Mandala

November 30th

The Monks of Drepung Loseling Phukhang Monastery, visiting from South India, will build a traditional Tibetan Buddhist Sand Mandala at the Downtown Eugene Public Library over the course of three days. 

An Opening Ceremony will be held on Friday, November 30, from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m., and a Closing Ceremony will be held on Sunday, December 2, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.  

The public is also invited to watch the process at any time on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, when the Downtown Library is open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The ancient art of creating Sand Mandalas is meant to inspire compassion and bring progress towards world peace. According to the monks, “it is said that wherever a Sand Mandala is created, all sentient beings and the surrounding environment are blessed, and that whoever views the mandala experiences profound peace and great joy. The colorfulness and harmony of the millions of sand particles in the mandala gives a powerful message that we all can live in peace if each of us work in creating a little more space for others in our hearts.”

The Opening Ceremony will consecrate the site with approximately 30 minutes of chanting, music, and mantra recitation. Then the monks will begin the exacting work of drawing the lines for the design of the mandala. Throughout the following days, the monks will skillfully pour millions of grains of brightly-colored sand from a funnel-shaped metal tool known as a “Chakpur,” creating an astonishingly detailed work of art. During the Closing Ceremony, the monks will dismantle the Mandala, sweeping up the colored sand “to symbolize the impermanence of all phenomena, teaching that everything that exists has a beginning, a middle and an end.”

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His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama will be visiting Eugene in May 2013. 

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