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Monks to construct sand painting
Mandala being created in CFA in conjunction with Dalai Lama’s visit to UB
By DAVID WEDEKINDT and KRISTEN E.M. RIEMER
Reporter
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Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery will construct a mandala sand painting Sept. 16 through 19 in the UB Art Gallery in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Of all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks to form the image of a mandala. To date, the monks have created mandala sand paintings in more than 100 museums, art centers and colleges and universities throughout the United States and Europe.
Tibetan Buddhist monks will construct a mandala sand painting in the UB Art Gallery in the Center for the Arts as part of the Dalai Lama’s visit to UB.
Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning sacred cosmogram. These cosmograms can be created in various media, among them watercolor on canvas and wood carvings. However, the most spectacular and enduringly popular are those made from colored sand.
In general, all mandalas have outer, inner and secret meanings. On the outer level, they represent the world in its divine form; on the inner level, they represent a map by which the ordinary human mind is transformed into an enlightened mind; and on the secret level, they depict the primordially perfect balance of the subtle energies of the body and the clear light dimension of the mind. The creation of a sand painting is said to affect purification and healing on these three levels.
The mandala sand painting traditionally begins with an opening ceremony, during which the lamas consecrate the site and call forth the forces of goodness, which is done through chanting, music and mantra recitation. The UB ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 16. Public access to the ceremony will be limited, and alternate viewing areas—via live, closed-circuit television—will be available at the Center for the Arts.
The lamas begin by drawing an outline of the mandala on the wooden platform. On the following days, they lay the colored sands. Each monk holds a traditional metal funnel called a chak-pur while running a metal rod on its grated surface. The vibration causes the sands to flow like liquid onto the platform.
It takes up to 24 hours to complete the mandala, and the public will be able to observe the work as it is being performed. Public viewing hours will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 16 (monks in residence from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 17 (monks in residence from 10 a.m. to noon) and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 18 (monks in residence from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.).
Most sand mandalas usually are destroyed shortly after their completion. This is done as a metaphor for 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 water then carries the healing blessing to the ocean and from there it spreads throughout the world for planetary healing.
The closing ceremony for the UB sand mandala will be held at 11 a.m. Sept. 19. Once again, access is limited and alternate viewing locations will be made available.
The mandala sand painting is one of five exhibitions—collectively entitled "Art from the Land of Compassion"—to be presented by the UB Art Galleries in conjunction with the upcoming visit by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
The other four exhibitions are:
"Tibetan Art from the Rubin Museum of Art," Sept. 16-23, UB Art Gallery, Center for the Arts. This selection of three works on loan from the Rubin Museum of Art—the first museum in the western world dedicated to the art of the Himalayas and surrounding regions—contextualizes the visit of the Dalai Lama. The two paintings and a metal sculpture depict historical Dalai Lamas, including Dalai Lama III, Sonam Gyatso; Dalai Lama V, Ngagwang Lobzang Gyatso; and Dalai Lama VII, Kalzang Gyatso.
"Building Cultures: Druk White Lotus School: A Sustainable Model for Education and Design," Sept. 16-23, UB Art Gallery, CFA. Curated by Brian Carter, professor and dean, School of Architecture and Planning, this exhibition of drawings, models and photographs documents a new international-design award-winning school, Druk White Lotus School, that is deeply rooted in traditional values and cultures while advancing modern educational concepts. It is located in Ladakh, at the northeastern boundary of India, an area known as Little Tibet that is set in the high peaks of the Himalayas. The Dalai Lama is the patron of the Drukpa Trust that supports the school.
"Thangka Paintings from Western New York Collections," through Nov. 26, UB Anderson Gallery, Martha Jackson Place near Englewood and Kenmore avenues, Buffalo. The presence of Tibetan art in several Western New York collections is a testament to the strong influence of Tibetan Buddhism worldwide. This exhibition highlights historic and contemporary Thangka paintings culled from public collections, including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Amitabha Foundation in Rochester, and several private collections.
"Rose Mandala" by Chrysanne Stathacos, through Nov. 26, UB Anderson Gallery. A contemporary complement to the ancient practice that will be performed by the Tibetan monks in the UB Art Gallery, the "Rose Mandala" is a temporal performance/installation that explores the ephemeral process of change and mortality within transient time using roses as the vehicle. The mandala will be created by plucking dozens of roses apart, petal by petal, and placing them around a circular mirror. Meditation benches, designed by Stathacos from logs from a walnut tree, will surround the mandala, enabling visitors to sit in contemplation. The installation will be left to dry, shrinking over time, and later swept up, gathered or blown away by human breath in performance. Stathacos will give a lecture and performance on Dec. 1, time to be announced.