Creating Mandala

Sand Paintings - Part I

Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery in southern India will construct a mandala sand painting and perform special ceremonies at the Asia Society Texas Center. During this ritual, millions of grains of sand are meticulously placed in order to purify and heal the environment and its inhabitants.

This artistic tradition of Tantric Buddhism, painting with colored sand, ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. Millions of grains of sand are meticulously placed on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks to form the image of a mandala. To date, the monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery have created mandala sand paintings in more than 100 museums, art centers, and colleges and universities in the United States and Europe.

Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning sacred cosmogram. These cosmograms can be created in various media, such as watercolor on canvas, wood carvings, and so forth. 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 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 effect purification and healing on these three levels.

Community Mandala: 
The whole community is invited to take part in the FREE event by helping to create a sand mandala. Guests will learn how to use the chakpur to fill in the design with sand. A live stream of the mandala creation will run on Asia Society's website, with a new link posted daily.

Additional exhibits are available in the Center if you would like to see more (check web site for hours and ticket prices - https://asiasociety.org/texas

Free Parking on the street (watch for no parking signs/markings) or look for nearby parking garages.

There will be  a second event “Closing Ceremony - Mandala Sand Paintings - Part II”  on Sunday, August 18th where the Mandala will be dismantled and given to the audience members.  If interested please click >>here<< (please sign up separately)