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(10/10/07)
The Mystical Arts of Tibet and the monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery present
Mandala Sand Painting: The Architecture of Enlightenment
October 30—November 2, 2007 at Millsaps College
Free and open to the public
Yamantaka Mandala |
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Amitayus Mandala |
Millsaps College will host a weeklong exhibition of The Mystical Arts of Tibet from October 30 to November 2. The group of Tibetan Buddhist monks will conduct a sacred ceremony involving Tantric music and the creation of a mandala, an artistic expression of prayer.
The mandala may be viewed from the Lewis Art Gallery. The public is welcome to view the monks at work from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. The opening ceremony commences on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., and the closing ceremony will be held on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Both are also open and free events to the public.
The term “mandala” in Sanskrit means “sacred cosmogram” and consists of the ancient Tantric Buddhist practice of painting with colored sands. Extending back to 2,500 years of ancient Buddhist ceremony, these unique art forms are used as tools for reconsecrating the earth and healing its inhabitants. They appear in a kaleidoscope of geometric shapes and colors of multiple representations said to affect the purification of human healing on three different levels of spirituality.
To construct the mandala, millions of grains of sand will be painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over the course of the week and will end with the deconstruction of the piece, symbolic of the impertinence of all existing matter. The process will include haunting musical performances throughout, which consist of chants and mantras. The sound is said to induce the “lifting of the human spirit to the Gods.” The main chant masters simultaneously intone three notes thus individually creating a complete chord. This “overtone” multiphonic chanting is crucial to the spiritual endeavor of creating a calming meditation central to Tantric Buddhism.
These real-life monks have performed at various places around the world such as the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the Victoria and Albert museum in London and the Science Museum in San Francisco. Duke University, UCLA and the University of California at Berkley are amongst several educational institutions that have hosted the monks in addition to Millsaps. The Mystical Arts of Tibet have also been performed at such events as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colo. Their music appeared on the Golden Globe-nominated soundtrack Seven Years in Tibet starring Brad Pitt and also were included in the Martin Scocese film soundtrack Kundun. Some of their most notable work was their conduction of madala sand paintings in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington as mediums for peace and healing.
Exhibition Schedule
Tuesday, Oct. 30
11:15 a.m. – Opening Ceremony in the Recital Hall of the Gertrude C. Ford Academic Complex
Wednesday, Oct. 31
9:00 a.m.—6:00 p.m. – Monks working on mandala sand painting in lobby of Recital Hall. Observers welcome.
Thursday, Nov. 1
9:00 a.m.—6:00 p.m. – Monks working on mandala sand painting in lobby of Recital Hall. Observers welcome.
Friday, Nov. 2
9:00 a.m.—11:30 a.m. – Monks working on mandala sand painting in lobby of Recital Hall. Observers welcome.
12:30 p.m. – Closing ceremony in lobby of Recital Hall.
For information about group visits, call Dr. Darby Ray, 601-974-1337.
Medicine Buddha Mandala
From all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. In Tibetan this art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which literally means "mandala of colored powders." Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks.
Formed of a traditional prescribed iconography that includes geometric shapes and a multitude of ancient spiritual symbols, the sand-painted mandala is used as a tool for re-consecrating the earth and its inhabitants.
The lamas begin the work by drawing an outline of the mandala on the wooden platform, which requires the remainder of the day. The following days see the laying of the colored sands, which is effected by pouring the sand from traditional metal funnels called chak-pur. Each monk holds a chak-pur in one hand, while running a metal rod on its grated surface; the vibration causes the sands to flow like liquid.
Traditionally most sand mandalas are destroyed shortly after their completion. This is done as a metaphor of the impermanence of life. The sands are swept up and placed in an urn; to fulfill the function of healing, half is distributed to the audience at the closing ceremony, while the remainder is carried to a nearby body of water, where it is deposited. The waters then carry the healing blessing to the ocean, and from there it spreads throughout the world for planetary healing.
– From www.mysticalartsoftibet.org
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