By Frank Mathie
June 13 — If you’ve ever gone to the beach you have done it. You have created art out of sand. A sand castle perhaps, or maybe a mermaid? But those works of beach art are nothing compared to what’s going on at the Field Museum.
Some Tibetan monks are creating what is called a sand Mandala.
Millions of grains of colored sand, that’s what they’re using to make what they call a Mandala. Tibetan monks at the Field Museum are creating an intricate design that’s traced deep into the past.
“It’s fairly old, several centuries old … almost 5000 years. It’s one of the first traces and illustrations of faith,” said Beth Crownover of The Field Museum.
The colored sand is placed in long metal funnels and then by vibrating the funnel a thin line of sand is dropped onto the Mandala. For us it’s art, but for the Tibetan monks it’s not.
“It is only a … ah, religious exercise. SO IT’S NOT ABOUT ART EVEN THOUGH IT IS ARTISTIC. No it’s not art,” said Lobsang Dhondup, the Tibetan monks spokesperson.
“The gods and the symbols that are on the Mandala are reminders of our impermanence and the life and death that occurs in the normal cycle of life,” said Crownover.
This particular Mandala, they say, is also about long life, but because it’s made of sand it means we’re fragile, and we could end up just blowing in the wind.
What happens if they sneeze?
“Well, if they sneeze they have to suck the damaged parts and then they repair it,” said Dhondup.
When they finish this sand Mandala this coming Sunday they will have worked on it four days, and then they will destroy it.
“They pick the sand up and put it into a jar or vase and take it to the lake and pour it into the lake. JUST LIKE THAT? Just like that … GONE? Gone,” said Crownover.
But the monks won’t be gone until Sunday afternoon.
