Tibetan Buddhist Monks to Construct a Mandala Sand Painting and Perform Special Ceremonies at RiverCenter

This week marks the beginning of a special residency at RiverCenter for the Performing Arts. Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery will construct a Mandala Sand Painting and conduct ceremonies surrounding their residency from September 8-14.

Tantric Buddhism has many artistic traditions, but painting with colored sand is widely recognized as their most unique and exquisite form of artistry. When painting a mandala, Tibetan Buddhist monks work with millions of grains of sand. These granules 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 Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery have created mandala sand paintings in more than 100 museums, art centers, and colleges and universities across the United States and Europe.

This highly-unique process and its corresponding ceremonies are best enjoyed in person, but here is a preview of what you'll encounter when you visit the RiverCenter during their residency.

If You Go:

The opening ceremony will take place at 3 PM on September 8 and the closing ceremony, including a walk to the Chattahoochee River to disperse the sands, with be held at 12:30 PM on September 14. The mandala creation process can be viewed during regular lobby hours. All of these events are FREE and open to the public.

For more information, click here.

*Images and video courtesy of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery via RiverCenter for the Perfomring Arts.