Manjusri sand mandala in Atlanta
June 28th, 2008This past week I attended the International Association of Buddhist Studies conference in Atlanta where some Tibetan monks constructed a sand mandala dedicated to Manjusri, the bodhisattva of wisdom. The construction of a sand mandala takes a long time, a really long time, and since I came home on Friday, I wasn’t able to see the finished product. Nor was I able to see them deconstruct the mandala and pour the sand in the river. But here’s what I did get!
The first seven shots are from the dedication ceremony Tuesday evening. The ceremony included much chanting and horns and drums and multiphonic chanting and dancing. Then they started laying out the mandala in chalk. This was very detailed and mathematical. It wasn’t until the following day that they started putting the sand on the table.
I’ll try to write a more detailed post on my personal blog in a couple of days about what this ritual means for those interested.
Enjoy!
Mandala set-up, sand bowls (Tuesday afternoon/evening)
Monks chanting for wisdom and peace
Preparing the table
Black hat dancers
Black hat dance to dispel ignorance
Laying out the mandala in chalk
Laying out chalk outline
Completed chalk outline (Wednesday morning)
Sand painting
More sand painting
Yet more sand painting
Progress made by Thursday morning