From Saturday, April 28 to Thursday morning, May 3rd, Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Gaden Jangste Monastery are visiting UUS:E. On Saturday the monks created a sand mandala. They participated in the Sunday morning worship. For the full schedule of their remaining activities, visit uuse.org. Below is a quick video that shows the monks creating the mandala, along with a few photos of the process as well as the finished piece. I was present for the dissolution of the sand mandala on Sunday afternoon, but I don’t have any video footage. I decided it was more important to experience the dissolution–to focus on impermanence–rather than try to capture the dissolution in permanence!
The high point of Sunday’s worship service for me was the blessing of the children. It was wonderful to watch Geshe Tenzin hold the hands of each child who came forward (some on their own, some with parents) and speak a blessing to them. Every child smiled. Every single one! I estimate Geshe blessed 75-80 kids over the course of two services. What a gentle soul! The only word I have for it is “special.” It just doesn’t happen every day. What a blessing!
