Tibetan Buddhist monks creates and destructs exquisite mandalas made from colored sand to symbolize the Buddhist doctrinal belief in the impermanence of life and the world.
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Sand Mandala is practiced by Tibetan monks as a part of tantric tradition.
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Since the ritual is considered to be very sacred, Buddhist monks undergo years of training before they can make a mandala. They need to spend time in philosophical and artistic study. In the personal monastery of the Dalai Lama, the Nyamgal monastery, monks spend about three years studying before making the mandala.
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It takes several weeks to build, and need several monks to work on a single piece of mandalas, creating one section of the diagram at a time, working from the center outwards.
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The art includes geometric figures and several Buddhist spiritual symbols.
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A typical sand mandala consists of an outer ring, inside which is a smaller square representing the ‘celestial palace’, a dwelling place of the deity. This square has four gateways representing each of the four directions. The circle as well as the square is made with several intricate layers. The square contains yet another circle, divided into 9 sectors. This circle might just repeat the pattern outside, or the central sector may contain the deity itself. If this is the case, the deity’s manifestations are represented in the surrounding sectors. Sometimes, the whole pattern may be contained within a square, with each of its corners repeating the pattern in smaller mandalas.
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The colors for the painting are usually made with naturally colored sand, crushed gypsum (white), yellow ochre, red sandstone, charcoal, and a mixture of charcoal and gypsum (blue). Mixing red and black can make brown, red and white make pink. Other coloring agents include corn meal, flower pollen, or powdered roots and bark.
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The Mandala construction process started with an opening ceremony. The monks begin by consecrating the site of the mandala sand painting with approximately 30 minutes of chants, music, and mantra recitation.
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Traditionally, four monks work on a single mandala, each taking one of the four quadrants. They start drawing the architectural lines design for the mandala using a straight-edged ruler, compass and ink pen, starting with a single dot at the very center.
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Four lines are drawn from this dot, after which each monk will work in his own quadrant. This process takes about three hours to complete.
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Each of these four monks has an assistant to fill in their detailed outlines with colored grains of sand from traditional metal funnels called chakpur, which is scraped by another metal rod to cause sufficient vibration for the grains of sand to trickle out of its end.
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The two "chakpurs" are said to symbolize the union of wisdom and compassion.
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The finished mandala is approximately 5' x 5' in size, and takes three to five days of work.
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All the monks begin work on the mandala from the center, moving outwards.
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Balance is maintained by waiting for all the monks to complete their sections, before moving on to the next.
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The monks conclude their creation of the mandala with a consecration ceremony.
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During the closing ceremony, the monks dismantle the mandala, sweeping up the colored sands to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists.
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When requested, half of the sand may be distributed to the audience in small bags as blessings for personal health and healing.
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The remaining sand is carried in a procession by the monks, accompanied by guests, into a nearby river or stream, where it is ceremonially poured to disperse the healing energies throughout the world.
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Source: odditycentral, mysticalartsoftibet, gomang
[link]Sand Mandala is practiced by Tibetan monks as a part of tantric tradition.
[link]Since the ritual is considered to be very sacred, Buddhist monks undergo years of training before they can make a mandala. They need to spend time in philosophical and artistic study. In the personal monastery of the Dalai Lama, the Nyamgal monastery, monks spend about three years studying before making the mandala.
[link]It takes several weeks to build, and need several monks to work on a single piece of mandalas, creating one section of the diagram at a time, working from the center outwards.
[link]The art includes geometric figures and several Buddhist spiritual symbols.
[link]A typical sand mandala consists of an outer ring, inside which is a smaller square representing the ‘celestial palace’, a dwelling place of the deity. This square has four gateways representing each of the four directions. The circle as well as the square is made with several intricate layers. The square contains yet another circle, divided into 9 sectors. This circle might just repeat the pattern outside, or the central sector may contain the deity itself. If this is the case, the deity’s manifestations are represented in the surrounding sectors. Sometimes, the whole pattern may be contained within a square, with each of its corners repeating the pattern in smaller mandalas.
[link]The colors for the painting are usually made with naturally colored sand, crushed gypsum (white), yellow ochre, red sandstone, charcoal, and a mixture of charcoal and gypsum (blue). Mixing red and black can make brown, red and white make pink. Other coloring agents include corn meal, flower pollen, or powdered roots and bark.
[link]The Mandala construction process started with an opening ceremony. The monks begin by consecrating the site of the mandala sand painting with approximately 30 minutes of chants, music, and mantra recitation.
[link]Traditionally, four monks work on a single mandala, each taking one of the four quadrants. They start drawing the architectural lines design for the mandala using a straight-edged ruler, compass and ink pen, starting with a single dot at the very center.
[link]Four lines are drawn from this dot, after which each monk will work in his own quadrant. This process takes about three hours to complete.
[link]Each of these four monks has an assistant to fill in their detailed outlines with colored grains of sand from traditional metal funnels called chakpur, which is scraped by another metal rod to cause sufficient vibration for the grains of sand to trickle out of its end.
[link]The two "chakpurs" are said to symbolize the union of wisdom and compassion.
[link]The finished mandala is approximately 5' x 5' in size, and takes three to five days of work.
[link]All the monks begin work on the mandala from the center, moving outwards.
[link]Balance is maintained by waiting for all the monks to complete their sections, before moving on to the next.
[link]The monks conclude their creation of the mandala with a consecration ceremony.
[link]During the closing ceremony, the monks dismantle the mandala, sweeping up the colored sands to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists.
[link]When requested, half of the sand may be distributed to the audience in small bags as blessings for personal health and healing.
[link]The remaining sand is carried in a procession by the monks, accompanied by guests, into a nearby river or stream, where it is ceremonially poured to disperse the healing energies throughout the world.
[link]Source: odditycentral, mysticalartsoftibet, gomang
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