Wednesday-Friday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Admission: Donations Welcome.
Witness the step-by-step creation of a traditional sand mandala. The Tibetan art form of sand painting is an ancient and sacred practice intended to uplift and benefit not only every person who sees it, but also to bless the environment. The Sanskrit term mandala is the name for this circular representation of spiritual truths. The mandala reflects much information about the nature of the human mind, which has a strong tendency toward the illusion of permanence. The medium of sand, however, reminds the viewer of the ultimate impermanence of this existence as well as of all things. This fragile, multi-dimensional, impermanent painting in sand is layered with outer, inner and secret teachings cultivated to benefit all sentient beings. Watch as the Venerable Losang Samten, director of the Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia, creates and then ritually dismantles the mandala during our Sacred Arts Festival (see listing for the Sacred Arts Festival).
Watch a time-lapse video of Losang Samten creating a mandala here.