Mandala Sand Painting: Creating an Enlightened World

Read the Interview with Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, founder and director of Drepung Loseling Institute

On September 20 the Drepung Loseling monks will offer a special performance of Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing at 8:00 pm at St. Bartholomew’s Church (Park Avenue at 50th Street). Presented by the Interfaith Center of New York and the Tibet Fund in association with the Asia Society, the performance will benefit the Tibetan refugee community in India and Nepal.

The Sacred Music Sacred Dance performance comprises selections believed to generate energies conducive to world healing. Robed in magnificent costumes and playing traditional Tibetan instruments, the monks perform authentic ancient temple music and dance. Featuring the unique multiphonic chanting of the Loseling monks, the performance allows the Western audience a rare glimpse into the atmosphere of ancient Tibetan temples.

Tickets for the performance are $20, with a discounted price of $12 for students and senior citizens, and can be purchased at the Asia Society reception desk and box office, at the church on the night of the performance, or by calling 866-938-4048 toll-free.

September 11 - 21
11:00 am - 5:30 pm
Closed Monday, September 15

Opening Ceremony
Thursday, September 11
10:30 am
Healing chants and prayers to commemorate the
events of September 11, 2001

Closing Ceremony
Sunday, September 21
4:00 pm

This mandala sand painting is a gift to New York City from the Tibetan Buddhist monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery to commemorate the tragic events of September 11 and to honor His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who will receive the prestigious Human Rights Award from the International League for Human Rights on September 19.

sand mandala

A mandala is a symbol of the universe in its ideal form, and its creation signifies the transformation of a universe of suffering into one of joy. It can also be used as an aid to meditation, helping the meditator to envision how to achieve the perfect self. The construction of the mandala begins with a ceremony in which the monks consecrate the site and call forth forces of goodness through chants, meditation, and music. Then, over the course of ten days, the monks will pour millions of grains of colored sand from traditional metal funnels (chak-purs), purifying and healing the space and its inhabitants in the process. Shortly after its completion the monks will dismantle the mandala to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists and disperse the sand in order to share its blessing.

A Soul of Asia program. Free with museum admission.

Selections of Buddhist masterworks from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection of Asian Art are on display within the building.

Made possible with generous support from Ruth and Harold Newman.