Tibetan Sand Mandala Making: The Tibetan Wheel of Life

The Tibetan art form of sand painting is an ancient and sacred practice intended to uplift and benefit every person who sees it, and also blesses the environment. Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning circle, and in Tibetan is called kyil-khor, which means essence and circle. Every aspect of the mandala has meaning and nothing is arbitrary or superfluent. 

Mandalas are used to enhance spiritual practice through imagery and meditation to overcome suffering by healing a person’s body, speech, mind, as well as the healing environment. In essence, mandalas represent enlightened qualities, and are an important form of teaching in Vajrayana Buddhism to support living beings on the path to enlightenment.

No two mandalas look the same, yet each is exactly the same in concept. The same symbols,characters and designs are used, yet not in a rigid duplication.The mandala reflects back the nature of the human mind, which has a strong tendency toward the illusion of permanence. The medium of sand, however, reminds the viewer of the ultimate impermanence of this existence as well as of all things.

When Losang Samten brought this gift to the United States, he was the first to create this mandala in sand. He will be at Breathe Together creating a new mandala (no two mandals look the same!) and this is a rare opportunity to learn about this art form and watch the process. The public is welcome to visit and observe the making of the Mandala. We recommend people also joining for the special ceremonies that take place at the start and close of this practice: 

Opening Ceremony: Saturday, July 27th @  9:30 – 11:30am

Closing Ceremony: Tuesday, April 23rd @ 4 – 4:45pm

To accommodate people who are remote or would prefer to observe from the comfort of their home, the entire sand mandala making process will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel.