Tibetan Buddhist Chenrezig Sand Mandala

St. Lawrence University's Richard F. Brush Gallery welcomed Tibetan Buddhists to create a mandala, meticulously made of sand. The live exhibit opened on October 21 and closes on November 12 with a ritual 'dismantling ceremony' and walk to Willow Island to disperse the sand in the Grasse River.

Chenrezig (in Sanskrit, Avalokiteśvara) personifies compassion, the most important ethical value in Buddhism. Many Buddhists, especially Tibetan Buddhists, perform a contemplative practice in which they visualize themselves as Chenrezig and imagine that in his form they are able to relieve the suffering of living beings throughout the cosmos.

The Chenrezig mandala ("circle") is an architectural ground plan of Chenrezig's palace, its gardens and its decorations, at the center of the cosmos. Practitioners of Chenrezig meditation imagine that it is the abode from which they spread their compassion.

Because a sand mandala is usually made for the purpose of initiating meditators into a specific practice, it is a temporary construction. At the initiation's conclusion, the sand is dispersed in a body of water. In recent years, however, mandalas have been constructed in public places such as art galleries and museums for educational purposes.

Made of millions of grains of sand and thought to be charged with powerful blessings, a sand mandala is painstakingly constructed over a period of days or weeks. Every aspect of it has symbolic significance. For instance, Chenrezig himself appears in the center of a lotus flower on a moon disc. The outer walls of the mansion, in layers of white, yellow, red, green, and blue, represent faith, effort, memory, meditation, and wisdom. The four doorways represent the four "immeasurable thoughts" of love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.

Tibetan Buddhists believe that simply viewing a mandala can put the observer in touch with the profound potential for perfect enlightenment that exists within every mind. During a post-Covid era of heightened psychological and emotional duress, here and around the world, the Chenrezig sand mandala offers wholeness, balance, unity, connection, and harmony.

Several traditional Tibetan Buddhist thangka paintings from the Gallery's permanent collection and regional lenders will also be on display. Typically used for devotional purposes, thangka paintings depict Buddhist deities, teachings, or mandalas, such as the Wheel of Life, which illustrates the cyclic existence of life, death, and rebirth.

As cultural ambassadors from the exiled personal monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India, the monks of Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies, Ithaca, New York, have become especially well known for the creation of sand mandala exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout the world. Two monks from Namgyal will be in residence for the duration of the project. Chenrezig was chosen by the monks as a form of healing and compassion in response to current events around the world.

On Monday, October 21 Daniel Cozort lectured on "Mandala: Imagining a Better World."

An informal discussion took place on Tuesday, in the Gallery.

On Wednesday, October 30, a lecture and discusioion was led by Shinge Roshi, abbot of the Zen Center of Syracuse Hoen-Ji on "Caring for Our Only Home: A Buddhist Response to the Climate Crisis."

On Thursday, October 24 Geshe Ngawang Gyatso led a discussion on "Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism,"

Remaining schedule;

Thursday, October 31, at 12 p.m.

available on Zoom and in Griffiths 123

Meditation Instruction with Geshe Ngawang Gyatso

Friday, November 1, at 12 p.m. in the Gallery

"Spotlight talk" by Dr. Chandreyi Basu, associate professor of Art & Art History,

on Eight Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist thangka painting from

St. Lawrence University's permanent collection

Thursday, November 7, at 12 p.m.

available on Zoom and in Griffiths 123

"How to achieve peace in troubled times," discussion with Geshe Ngawang Gyatso

Friday, November 8, at 12 p.m. in Griffiths 123

"Mandalas in Japanese Buddhism" lecture by Mark MacWilliams, professor of Religious Studies

Saturday, November 16, at 12 p.m. at the Gallery

Ritual dismantling ceremony and walk to Willow Island to disperse the sand in the Grasse River

The Gallery will be open Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday 12:00 to 5:00 p.m.

The monks begin working at 9:00 a.m., with prayers and meditation from 10:00 to 10:15 a.m., Monday through Friday, with the addition of Saturday, October 26. The monks' lunch break is from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., and they will continue working from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.