On Sunday, the last day, we arrived just as the Tibetan lamas of the Drepung Loseling monastery had finished the mandala and were putting away their tools. Once again a lot have been done since the day before. They than left for a while to get ready for the ceremony.
"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."
One of the monks told the history of the mandalas and why they do them and what they represent. Then the chanting and music started, followed by the brushing of the mandala.
The monks then shared some of the sand, here my son is receiving some.
We then went to forest near by, took a very mucky hike to the river where the monks again chanted and played their music and the sand was released into the moving water.
No comments:
Post a Comment