Tibetan Monks Create a Mandala at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia

Emory University and Tibet have been partnering for nineteen years to bring together the best of Western and Tibetan Buddhist intellectual practices to benefit humanity.  Programs include Study Abroad opportunities and the Buddhist Center of Dialectics.

As part of this Tibet Week
Activities, Buddhist Monks
are creating a Sand Mandala
at the Michael C. Carlos
Museum.

The Altar includes a photo

of the Dalai Lama.

Monks have been constructing
the Mandala for several days.







The Mandala is a spiritual symbol that represents the universe.

The bowls on the table behind

the Mandala hold the different

colored sands used by the

monks to create this beautiful

image.

I admire the intricacy of
the Mandala's design.

Here's a link to watch a time-lapse video of the construction of a Mandala.  It usually takes four to five days to construct one.  When completed, the Mandala becomes a sacred space and serves as a receptacle for deities and the collection point for universal forces.  People are invited to see the completed work.

A Closing Ceremony is performed to dismantle the Mandala.  Monks sweep up the sand and put it in little bags.  The bags are given to guests in attendance as blessings for health and healing.

Why destroy a beautiful work of art?  Everything in live is fleeting, in flux. Dismantling the Mandala is the acknowledgement that nothing in life is permanent.