University of Maryland News

Student Entertainment Events and the Union Gallery are pleased to announce a performing arts event featuring the Monks of the Drepung Monastery, who will create a sand mandala in silence over three days. At 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 25, the Monks will have an opening ceremony in the Union Gallery of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union. The event will continue until 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, and the closing ceremony will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 4:30 p.m. This event will not be ticketed.

From all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand is one of the most unique and exquisite. In Tibet 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.

A Tibetan mandala, visually represented, is a geometric composition wherein deities reside. The principal deity is housed in the center. The mandala serves as a tool for guiding individuals along the path to enlightenment. A mandala has three layers of meaning: the outer (a model of the universe), the inner (to help minds become enlightened), and the secret (a perfect balance of mind and body).

Watch the progression of a mandala being created below.



For more information about this and other SEE events visit www.see.umd.edu or call the event hotline at 301.314.9845.