Sand mandala
A long time ago, when I was working for the Justice Department in New Zealand, I found myself in Lower Hutt, a city in the Wellington region. While I was there, there just happened to be a Buddhist sand mandala performance at the local art gallery. I went along and had a look and was enthralled. I came back for the next three or four days to watch the monks create and then suddenly destroy the beautiful mandala.
In some small way, that experience many years ago, contributed to my current understanding of the Buddhist notion of impermanence.
Sand mandalas are a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from coloured sand. A mandala is a circular image representing the universe in Buddhist symbolism.
Read the article below and answer the questions with NO MORE than TWO WORDS from the text.
What type of Buddhism are sand mandalas associated with?
Who are the sand mandalas created by?
What in the mandala symbolises the Buddhist values of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity?
How long can it take for the monks to construct a sand mandala?
What causes the mandala creation to be meditative for the monks?
What does the destruction of the sand mandala represent?
What does Buddhism assert are impermanent?
Sand Mandalas are an ancient art form of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism has many colourful art forms like thangka paintings, butter sculptures and sand mandalas. Like all the other art forms of Tibet, the sand mandala is associated with Buddhist culture and Buddhist philosophy.
The sand mandalas are done by skilled monks, who have been trained in this art form for many years before performing in public. The mandala is steeped in symbolism and philosophy. Generally a mandala is represented in the form of a palace. The middle of the mandala palace is where the essence of Buddha lies. Surrounding him are the four gates which form a square. These gates represent the four immeasurables of Buddhism, which are loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
Creating a sand mandala involves not only enormous patience but also considerable cooperation. The monks work meditatively, beginning by drawing the basic design of the mandala on a flat board. Then they start at the centre and work outwards. Completion of a mandala can take several weeks, which is why it is a group effort by the monks. It is generally a very meditative process for monks due to the intense concentration involved.
After days or weeks of carefully creating the intricate pattern of a sand mandala, the mandala is destroyed in one swift sweep. This symbolises the essential Buddhist idea of impermanence.
Impermanence, called anicca (Pali) or anitya (Sanskrit), is one of the key doctrines of Buddhism. The doctrine asserts that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is transient and inconstant. All things, whether material or mental, are in a continuous change of condition, subject to decline and destruction. They are not constant or permanent; they rise up and they pass away.
The sand from the mandala is collected by the monks and released into flowing water (e.g. rivers) where it is believed that the water will carry the blessed sand far and wide.
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May we all experience our impermanence
May we all be part of the change
Take care - much love, Simon
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