In preparation for the Dalai Lama’s visit, Tibetan monks have journeyed across the world to share a piece of their culture and bring peace to the city of Fayetteville through the construction of a sand mandala at Mullins Library in the Helen Robson Walton Reading Room. This is the sixth mandala to be constructed at the UA.

Tibetan monks construct a mandala in Mullins Library. The mandala represents a spiritual journey and will be in the Reading Room until May 12. (Photo by Contessa Shew)

“The mandala represents pure embodiment, which is a manifestation of love, compassion and wisdom,” said Geshe Thupten Dorjee, instructor in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

“It brings positive energy and cleanses negative thoughts, even to non-believers,” Dorjee said. “The minute people see the mandala, they open up their hearts.”

The construction of a mandala is an ancient tradition, passed down thousands of years. For centuries, these mandalas were created exclusively in Tibetan monasteries, but in the 1980s, the Dalai Lama permitted the mandalas to be constructed for the public. Although traditionally a mandala is built from crystals, that process is too expensive, so sand is used as an alternative.

The Mandala signifies five major sciences: arts and crafts, medicine and healing, grammar, logic and philosophy, Dorjee said.

“The idea of it is to give a 2-D representation with a 3-D embodiment that we all wish to achieve,” he said.

Before constructing the mandala, the monks have to make sure the area is appropriate for construction, they have to get permission from the local people as well as the invisible beings, and they must have an opening ceremony where they chant to dispel any obstacles, said Gala Rinpoche, a group leader for the Mystical Arts of Tibet tour.

The mandala has many different purposes, but one of the most profound is its use as a guide for a spiritual journey.

“The mandala is like a GPS for the spiritual journey, as well as a healing to the external, physical and emotional well-being,” Rinpoche said. “Once you understand the meaning and learn how to read it, you know where it’s taking you.”

It contains the entire Buddhist teachings, he said. “It is a way for us to improve our spiritual qualities.”

The monks usually spend one to two weeks working on the mandala, depending on the size.

“The labor process is extremely intensive, from having the capacity of mind to memorize the complex and sacred geometry to having the steady hand to lay in the sand a grain at a time,” said Sidney Burris, director of the Honors College, in an interview at the time the first mandala was constructed at the UA.

“It requires spiritual and physical energy. It’s not just digging a hole. It requires an immense amount of concentration, and it can be exhausting,” he said.

The monks will destroy the mandala after its completion to signify the impermanence of this world.  They will distribute packets of the sand to those who attend the closing ceremony and take the rest down to Skull Creek at Wilson Park.

“This signifies that as long as water exists, prayer exists,” Dorejee said. “It teaches detachment—we have to let go of any beautiful objects, because this is reality. Nothing exists forever.”

The closing ceremony will be May 12 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Mullins Library.