A sand painting made painstakingly grain by grain by Tibetan monks in Manchester has been destroyed – by those who built it.
The intricate art work has been put together with coloured sand on a flat platform by monks at the city’s town hall, over five days.
The Tibetan Healing Mandala is aiming at promoting peace, and is used as a tool for meditation by the monks.
On Sunday, it was removed up by the monks, from the Drepung Loseling Monastry in India, in a special closing ceremony.
The exhibition was part of the Mystical Arts of Tibet Tour, which involves music and dancing “to promote world healing”.
The mandalas – said to be the “architecture of enlightenment” – are constructed from sand and are unique to Tibetan Buddhism.
The pattern is drawn from memory
They are believed to promote purification and healing.
Monks began constructing the pattern by consecrating the site, before making a detailed drawing from memory.
When the mandala was completed, the monks dispersed the grains in flowing water – showing the impermanent nature of existence.
