From April 2-6, Drupon Thinley Ningpo Rinpoche and monks affiliated with Drikung Namgyal Ling will create an intricate mandala from colored sand, in the lower level of the Student Union Memorial Center, UA BookStores.
Tibetan Buddhists regard the mandala as a celestial palace inhabited by buddhas and attendant deities. To create the mandala is to recreate the world, to invite viewers to see their environment in a new way.
After five days of detailed and disciplined work, on the sixth day, the mandala will be ritually dissolved, the ultimate symbol of the ephemeral nature of forms. This dissolution is understood to purify the surrounding environment in a pervasive way.
The mandala event is made possible by the support of Arizona Friends of Tibet, Drikung Namgyal Ling, the Khyentse Foundation and The University of Arizona Departments of Religious Studies and Classics & East Asian Studies.
Drupon Rinpoche will also present a lecture, "Mandala and Mindfulness" sponsored by the Khyentse Foundation on April 4 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. for students and community members on meditation and the creative process.
