CIRCLE OF COMPASSION,
CIRCLE OF PEACE
A TIBETAN MANDALA PROJECT
TRINITY COLLEGE • JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 26, 2005
At a time when we are confronted globally with the spectre of violence and terror, join us to honor the Circle of Compassion, Circle of Peace, an expression of peace, compassion, and transformation for all sentient beings.
In January/February 2005 Trinity College, in cooperation with Wellesley College, will host seven Tibetan Buddhist nuns and Ani Ngawang Tendol, their translator and group leader, from the Keydong Thuk-Che-Cho-Ling Nunnery in Kathmandu, Nepal, in , the Avalokiteshvara mandala of compassion. Over twenty departments and programs at Trinity College have joined together to support this sacred art event. In 1998 the first group of Keydong nuns visited Trinity to create a sand mandala. Thousands of viewers visited the campus at that time to watch the process of making the mandala as well as its ceremonial dismantling. The Keydong nuns are among the first Tibetan Buddhist women monastics to learn this sacred art practice which was traditionally reserved for monks only.
A mandala is a graphic representation of the perfected environment of an enlightened being: in this case, Avalokiteshvara, the Deity of Compassion. A mandala can be read as a bird’s-eye view of a celestial palace, with a highly complex and beautiful architecture adorned with symbols and images that represent both the nature of reality and the order of an enlightened mind. At a deeper level then, a mandala is a visual metaphor for the path to enlightenment: its viewers “enter” a world artfully designed to evoke attitudes and understandings of their own deepest nature.
A mandala is both a microcosm and macrocosm and includes the individual and the universe in its transformative power. Upon completion of the intricate designs and complex iconography of the mandala, it is dismantled and the sand is offered back to the earth as a powerful symbol of the transitory nature of life.
EVENTS SCHEDULE:
January 28: Gallery Opening, Welcome and Lecture
Opening Circle of Compassion, Circle of Peace will be a lecture/slide presentation entitled “Mandala: the Architecture of Enlightenment,” given by Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion Laura Harrington, and introduced by Rinchen Dharlo, President of the Tibet Fund. The event will take place in Goodwin Theater, Austin Arts Center, at 4:00 pm. A gallery opening of works of Tibetan Buddhist art on loan from the collection of Sarah Miller of Windsor, Connecticut, and exhibited in Garmany Hall in the Arts Center, where the mandala will be created, will follow the lecture. The Keydong nuns will be welcomed by Dean of Faculty Frank Kirkpatrick, members of the Trinity community, and guests including internationally known Tibetan singer Dadon, at a reception accompanying the opening.
February 1 – 14: Creation & Dismantling of the Mandala
The creation of the mandala will take place in Garmany Hall, Austin Arts Center. The hall will be open to the public between the hours of 10:00 am and 6:00 pm on weekdays, and 1:00 and 5:00 pm on weekends, except Wednesday, February 9, during the observance of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. These hours are subject to change to honor special sacred intervals in the mandala-making process when the hall must be closed.
The nuns will hold a closing puja (prayer ceremony) at 5:30 in Garmany each weekday the Hall is open except for Losar on February 9. Visitors are welcome to sit and observe or meditate.
The ceremonial dismantling of the mandala will begin in Garmany Hall on February 14 at 12:00 noon. School buses will then be available on Summit Street adjacent to the Mather Campus Center to transport people to a site on the Connecticut River, where the ceremony wil be completed. Seats on the buses will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
February 24 – 26: Performances of SAND
SAND is an ensemble-based performance piece conceived as a response to the Circle of Compassion, Circle of Peace mandala project. Created and directed by New York City performance artist and Visiting Lecturer Michael Burke, and developed with Trinity students, SAND juxtaposes spoken text, dance, music, and visual imagery to explore such themes as compassion, impermanence, the interconnectedness of all beings, and how these relate to our personal histories and world views through the metaphor of sacred sand castles.
Performances will be Thursday at 8:00 pm, and Friday and Saturday at 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm in Garmany Hall, Austin Arts Center. The performances are free, but tickets are necessary due to limited seating. Tickets will be available at the Austin Arts Center Box Office (phone 860-297-2199) beginning January 31, 2005.
FOR INFORMATION ON OTHER EVENTS RELATED TO THE MANDALA PROJECT: check back on this web page frequently, or call: 860-297-5122.
For appointments for school groups, please call 860-297-2330.
CIRCLE OF COMPASSION, CIRCLE OF PEACE
Is made possible by:
Office of the Dean of the Faculty
Office of the President
Department of Theater and Dance
James L. Goodwin Theater and Dance Fund
Micki and Hy C. Dworin Fund for Asian and Eastern European Studies
Department of Anthropology
Department of Classics
Department of English
Ferris Athletic Center
First Year Program
Graduate Studies
Guided Studies
Department of History
Human Rights Program
InterArts Program
International Programs
Department of Modern Languages & Literature
Department of Music
Department of Philosophy
Department of Public Policy & Law
Department of Sociology
Studio Arts Program
Tutorial College
Urban Initiatives
Women, Gender & Sexuality Program
Trinity 1634 Fund
Project Director: Judy Dworin
Project Committee: Elisa Griego, Laura Harrington, Pat Kennedy, James Latzel
Wellesley Project Director: Ji Hyang Sunim
Graphic Design: Phil Kennedy, http://www.gographicimages.com/
Student Co-ordinator: Tenzin Dharlo ‘07
Educational Outreach: Beatrice Birdman, Barbara Henriques, Elinor Jacobson
Photos by: Ellison Banks Findly, Peter Oliver