Tibetan sand mandalas have always fascinated me. The monks work for hours and days on incredibly intricate designs, tapping or vibrating colored sand through long metal cones. When it's finished, it's simply swept away. Typically, the sand is then scattered to the wind, or into a body of water. Sometimes it's put into small containers or bags and divided among the spectators so they can take part in the scattering.
When I went to see a sand mandala swept away at a local university, the person I was with at the time was frankly horrified at the concept. "How can they destroy all that work?" he asked."Why bother to do it at all if they're just doing to sweep it away?" He found it extremely depressing. We talked about our feelings. I'd always found it to be liberating and energizing, as it represented the natural cycle of birth and death we all experience. I love sand mandalas because I need to be reminded of the impermanence of all things, and I need to remember how precious is every moment of every day, and how quickly it can all pass by and disappear, and then I have a deeper appreciation and thankfulness of everything in life.
Check out this video of the Dalai Lama and other monks engaging in the construction and destruction of a Tibetan sand mandala.
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