Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in India will construct a mandala sand painting at The Detroit Institute of Arts from Monday, Dec. 27 through Friday, Dec. 31 as part of the DIA s special holiday programming. Painting with colored sand is one of the most unique and exquisite of all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism. Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a platform over a period of days to form the image of a mandala, or cosmogram.
Mandalas have outer, inner and secret meanings.
The creation of a sand painting is said to effect a purification and healing on these three levels. The opening ceremony begins on Monday, Dec. 27, from noon-3 p.m., during which the monks consecrate the site. This is done by means of chanting, music and mantra recitation. At 3 p.m., visitors will have a chance to ask the monks question. The sand is then carried to the Detroit River where it is ceremonially poured to disperse the healing energies of the mandala through the world.