Calming Mandala
I decided to go out of my way and brave the Tallmadge Circle after-work traffic in search of the Unity Chapel of Light, where Tibetan monks are visiting and creating a mandala. Upon entering the door of Unity, I heard the scraping of chak-pur, giving away the location of the monks. The chak-pur are the metal tools Tibetan monks use to scrap the colored sand into place that "draws" the spiritual mandala.Mandala are sacred art that represents a holy and meditative experience for the monks. Through painstaking patience the monks work in focus, scraping the sand into place, creating an impressively geometric space that represents the universe and opens a space for deities .
I stood watching for only a few minutes. The constant scraping created an almost hypnotic drone. Standing there, I recognized quickly the peaceful environment created by the monks' work. However, I also realized my immature patience and an assured inability to ever do such a thing--bent over for hours, even days, scraping metal sticks together in order to draw with sand.
Before the monks leave, they will wipe away their days worth of work. It's like writing a term paper and then deleting it on purpose after finishing--without the gods 'n' all of course.
Share
By Greg - Thursday, November 12, 2009
7 Comments:
I wonder how much of a real difference there is between completing a mandala, and finishing the Sunday NYTimes crossword puzzle only to toss it out in Monday's trash.
The difference is that I can't get any of the crossword puzzle. However, I can make sand castles.
Is this place open to the public to see the Mandala being made? Do people talk in there or is it silent? Great color and composition on the photo.
I found this rather fascinating... good find ! I wish I was closer to see it if it is open to the public
I remember about a year ago there was an article in the Beacon about Tibetan monks making one of these. It hurts my mind to even contemplate the patience this would take.
It is open to the public, and it was silent, because I was the only other person in there.
Friday is the big celebration with a traditional Tibetan dinner. I doubt it'll be some extravagant event; Unity boasted a kind of homely environment.
Long time ago, my uncle told me of Native Americans who make sand paintings and then are obligated to obliterate the painting at sundown. Its just another item that the American Natives brought over the Bering Straight with them from Asia.
Incidentally, if one thinks about it - there are NO "native " Americans & those calling themselves Native Americans are actually Russians
I once, in all honestly, filled out the Kent State U student questionaire (for my daughters) and checked off the "Native American" box. All sorts of "strange" communications resulted and I stood to my guns= " I was born in Schenectady, NY in the Mohawk Valley, and AM AS NATIVE AS ANYONE!
I earned an award for stubborness but NO financial aid for the kids.
Post a Comment
<< Home