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Mystical Arts of Tibet - Symbolism of the Sand Mandala Lecture

September 24, 2018, 7:00 PM

Contact: Cory Bock (submca@iastate.edu)
Sun Room, Memorial Union

FREE EVENT

Come listen and learn at this FREE lecture about the symbolism of the sand mandala as a great way to better understand the week's various events held across the Memorial Union. 

Co-Sponsored by the Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)

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. 

Traditionally most sand mandalas are deconstructed 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.

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