Buddhist Monks Create a Reminder of "Impermanence" — One Grain of Sand at a Time

JOURNAL SENTINEL
By Meg Jones

Tibetan monks Kunzang Gyatso (left) and Jampel Gyatso work on a sand mandala,

WISCONSIN---On Sunday a group of Tibetan monks from Drepung Gomang Monastery began the sand artwork called a mandala at an Asian art and handicraft shop near Spring Green. The monks plan to finish it Saturday. Then they'll do something baffling to most viewers. On Sunday the monks will perform a ceremony to destroy the mandala and throw the colored sand into the Wisconsin River.  Creating a mandala is a form of meditation and concentration. As millions of grains of sand are painstakingly placed on a board, the mandala is considered an imaginary palace to be contemplated by the monks wielding their copper funnels, said Tseten. [link]