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So what do you do with a beautiful sand painting such as this when you're done? Believe it or not, this sand mandala that took five full days of sifting colored sand through tiny funnels to complete, was swept into a pitcher and poured into the Puddle. Why? Tibetan Buddhists believe that everything is impermanent and that we let go of many things when we let go of our attachment to the mandala. It's a powerful ceremony. See images of the construction and dismantling here: Gallery 1, Gallery 2, Gallery 3.
Several Putney School classes and local schools visited Tenzin as he worked. And there was always time for a lesson. It was fun hearing elementary school kids quizzing each other on the mandala's significant details when revisiting the mandala and on the dismantling day. Tenzin was also available at meals for discussions on all sorts of topics--personal to political. Every day started with meditation and chanted prayers, which many students, faculty, staff and local folks attended.
Tenzin was ordained by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and entered Namgyal Monestary in Dharmsala, India in 1969. When he's not sand painting, Tenzin is a visiting professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY, where he has taught Tibetan Buddhist Studies since 1998. If you would like a sand mandala of your own (well, for a little while anyway), contact Tenzin at 121 Hamilton Street #2, Geneva, NY 14456; 315/781-3707; ctenzin@yahoo.com.