Tibetan Monks in Sault Ste. Marie

Last week, Kris and I went to see some Tibetan Monks working on this mandala. The intricacy is amazing, and obviously these pictures don't do this work of art justice.

This mandala is called the "Buddha of Compassion" and the purpose of it's construction is to encourage everyone of us to generate a compassionate heart for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Mandala's are constructed of marble which is refined to a powder and then coloured. The monks then draw a design on a board and proceed to fill it in with the sand that they have made. They use metal instruments to pour the sand with precision onto the mandala. They sometimes wear masks to keep their breath from moving the sand. Once the mandala is complete (it usually takes five days) they destroy it and pour the sand into the ocean, or in this case - Lake Huron.

These monks are Tibetan refugees and are monks of the Drepung Gomang Monastery in India. Click on the title link to learn more about this monastery.

It was nice to be able to learn more about a particular culture without having to spend thousands of dollars travelling there. Now I am curious to learn more about Tibet, as well as the life of monks.