Tibetan monks completed an interfaith world peace sand mandala Saturday at the Lawrence Arts Center; then, in a demonstration of impermanence of all, cleared the mandala and carried the sands to the river.
Many of the world’s major religions were represented in the 5-foot-diameter mandala. The monks began work following an opening ceremony on Tuesday, painstakingly placing colored grains of sand using a tool called a chakpur, and worked on it throughout the week.
With works like this mandala, the monks aim to contribute to world healing, peace and compassion, and to raise awareness of “the endangered Tibetan civilization and human rights abuses by the Communist Chinese since 1959,” according to the arts center’s website. “The situation in Tibet is becoming more desperate by the day, due to massive displacement of Tibetans by Chinese citizens sent there by the Communist government, and ever new rules and difficulties, especially at the monasteries.”
They also aim to raise funds for housing, food and medical care for orphans and refugees fleeing Tibet.
After completing the mandala, the monks swept the sand together, which “symbolizes the impermanence of all, creates awareness of one’s attachments and therefore suffering, and generates healing for the world.”
As part of the closing ceremony, they formed a procession to carry the sand to the Kansas River and return it to nature.
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Molly Adams (she/her), photojournalist and news operations coordinator for The Lawrence Times, can be reached at molly@lawrencekstimes.com. Check out more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
