A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
October 20th, the gallery at SLU before the monks started drawing the diagram for the Chenrezig mandala.
Near completion of the "Chenrezig" (Buddha of Compassion) mandala.
Two monks named, Venerable Nyima Tsering and Venerable Tenzin Shakya lead the group to the river to dismantle the mandala.
Riverside, the venerable monks say prayers and give offerings as they dismantle the mandala.
The monks made a field trip to Akwesasne Cultural Center. C-Quan translated into Tibetan a description of the Haudenosaunee wampum belt.
In late October, two monks named Venerable Nyima Tsering and Venerable Tenzin Shakya began making a mandala at the Richard F. Brush Gallery – SLU, in Canton.
Each day, the monks would start their day with prayers and meditation to initiate the mandala. Eat day their daily schedule looked like this: 10:00 prayers, 10:15 pouring sand, 12:00 lunch, 1:00 pouring sand, followed by tea at 4pm.
The Gallery was open Mondays through Sundays for visitors and onlookers to view the incredible process of making a mandala.
Mandalas are geometric symbols traditionally used in everything from ceremonies to meditation practices. A Mandala (Sanskrit for "circle") is an artistic representation of higher thought and deeper meaning given as a geometric symbol used in spiritual, emotional, or psychological work to focus one's attention.
After the month-long construction of a Tibetan Buddhist sand mandala was completed on November 12th. The ritual dismantling of the Tibetan Buddhist "Chenrezig" (Buddha of Compassion) mandala, representing impermanence, began at SLU at 10:00 am with a traditional Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving address given by Akwesasne artist Katsitsionni Fox.
The final dissolution ceremony took place a rock ledge in the Grasse River on Willow Island in Canton on Saturday, November 16.
The destruction of a sand mandala is highly ceremonial. After reciting prayers, the monks used a vajra tool to cut the energy of the mandala. The symbolic deities are removed in a specific order, along with the rest of the geometric components, until the mandala has been dismantled.
Those gathered, walked to the rock ledge at the far-right side of Willow Island to watch the monks recite final prayers and pour the sand into the river. The monks brought butter, sugar, yogurt, honey, and milk to be used as offerings.
The remaining sand was collected in a silk-wrapped vessel and transported to the Grasse River, where it was released back into nature to disperse the healing energies of the mandala to sentient beings in waters throughout the world.
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