A Cultural Enlightening...
...that the monks of Drepung Loseling monastic university love coming to the North Fork Valley—with its mountains and rivers, farms and orchards, the monks tell us this valley reminds them of home..
The tradition of creating sand mandalas, elaborate diagrams made of colored sand, originated in Tibet hundreds of years ago. A mandala is a representation of the celestial mansion of an enlightened being, or Buddha. In a wider sense the mandala may be thought of as the representation of both the external world and the inner world of consciousness—and indeed the whole universe. Tibetans believe that creating a sand mandala invites enlightenment into our hearts and brings increased peace and well-being into our world.
It takes trained monks many hours of painstaking work to create a sand mandala. They begin by sketching a diagram in chalk on a large table, about six feet square. Then, working from the center outward, the monks deposit colored sand, grain by grain, using a special metal funnel and rasper, to create the desired image. Senior monks study at tantric college for several years to memorize hundreds of different mandalas and their associated rituals. The monks work together in groups of four, gradually filling out the sacred image over the course of a week.
Colored marble dust is used to build up the complex, three-dimensional pattern. In traditional Tibet, crushed semiprecious stones like lapis lazuli, coral, and garnet were used. The Buddha's palace is represented in detail, with intricate gates at north, south, east, and west. Much of the colorful symbolism of the mandala relates to the forces of compassion and wisdom overcoming the delusions of hatred, attachment, and ignorance.
In August, The Creamery Arts Center in Hotchkiss will, once again host the creation of a traditional Tibetan sand mandala at the end of August, 2014. Throughout the week, the public is invited to visit the Creamery Arts Center and watch the monks at work. Hundreds of adults and children alike are expected to view the mandala and chat with the monks, who are always eager to visit with the people in communities they visit. Children can practice at a special table set up with colored sands and mandala tools, to create their own sand pictures.
When the final grain of sand is placed on the table, through ritual and prayer the monks invite the enlightened being to take up residence. Traditionally, the Buddha remains in the mandala within the temple for several days. At the Creamery, the finished mandala will remain for one day or so.
Finally, tradition dictates that the enlightened being is respectfully asked to depart the palace, and the mandala is scored, scratched, and swept up with chanting and ritual music, in a beautiful ceremony. The colored sand is bagged and distributed to the people, and the remaining sand is taken in procession (public welcome) to a nearby body of water (in our case, the North Fork River) so that the benefits may distribute as widely as possible. The monks wear their finest regalia, chant, sound their horns and drums at the river's side, and cast the sand into the waters.
By Jane McGarry
This is a family friendly, artistic and cultural event and we invite you to plan a visit to the North Fork Valley as the monks of Drepung Loseling monastic university create the sacred sand mandala in August, 2014. Check www.northforkvisitorguide.com for details and date confirmation. The Creamery Arts Center is located at 165 W. Bridge Street in downtown Hotchkiss and this event is funded through donations online at: http://nfv2014mandala.mydagsite.com/ or locally to North Fork Sangha, c/o North Fork Bank Center, Paonia CO 81428.
The tradition of creating sand mandalas, elaborate diagrams made of colored sand, originated in Tibet hundreds of years ago. A mandala is a representation of the celestial mansion of an enlightened being, or Buddha. In a wider sense the mandala may be thought of as the representation of both the external world and the inner world of consciousness—and indeed the whole universe. Tibetans believe that creating a sand mandala invites enlightenment into our hearts and brings increased peace and well-being into our world.
It takes trained monks many hours of painstaking work to create a sand mandala. They begin by sketching a diagram in chalk on a large table, about six feet square. Then, working from the center outward, the monks deposit colored sand, grain by grain, using a special metal funnel and rasper, to create the desired image. Senior monks study at tantric college for several years to memorize hundreds of different mandalas and their associated rituals. The monks work together in groups of four, gradually filling out the sacred image over the course of a week.
Colored marble dust is used to build up the complex, three-dimensional pattern. In traditional Tibet, crushed semiprecious stones like lapis lazuli, coral, and garnet were used. The Buddha's palace is represented in detail, with intricate gates at north, south, east, and west. Much of the colorful symbolism of the mandala relates to the forces of compassion and wisdom overcoming the delusions of hatred, attachment, and ignorance.
In August, The Creamery Arts Center in Hotchkiss will, once again host the creation of a traditional Tibetan sand mandala at the end of August, 2014. Throughout the week, the public is invited to visit the Creamery Arts Center and watch the monks at work. Hundreds of adults and children alike are expected to view the mandala and chat with the monks, who are always eager to visit with the people in communities they visit. Children can practice at a special table set up with colored sands and mandala tools, to create their own sand pictures.
When the final grain of sand is placed on the table, through ritual and prayer the monks invite the enlightened being to take up residence. Traditionally, the Buddha remains in the mandala within the temple for several days. At the Creamery, the finished mandala will remain for one day or so.
Finally, tradition dictates that the enlightened being is respectfully asked to depart the palace, and the mandala is scored, scratched, and swept up with chanting and ritual music, in a beautiful ceremony. The colored sand is bagged and distributed to the people, and the remaining sand is taken in procession (public welcome) to a nearby body of water (in our case, the North Fork River) so that the benefits may distribute as widely as possible. The monks wear their finest regalia, chant, sound their horns and drums at the river's side, and cast the sand into the waters.
By Jane McGarry
This is a family friendly, artistic and cultural event and we invite you to plan a visit to the North Fork Valley as the monks of Drepung Loseling monastic university create the sacred sand mandala in August, 2014. Check www.northforkvisitorguide.com for details and date confirmation. The Creamery Arts Center is located at 165 W. Bridge Street in downtown Hotchkiss and this event is funded through donations online at: http://nfv2014mandala.mydagsite.com/ or locally to North Fork Sangha, c/o North Fork Bank Center, Paonia CO 81428.