Creating, and Dismantling, a Mandala at Trinity
“Circle of Compassion, Circle of Peace”
Eight Tibetan Buddhist nuns recently transformed Garmany Hall in the
Austin Arts Center from a black box theater into a spiritual space in
which they created, and dismantled, a sand mandala. The nuns, from the
Keydong Thuk-Che-Cho-Ling Nunnery in Kathmandu, Nepal, began building
the mandala February 1 and completed it on February 14, when it was
ceremoniously dismantled and the sand transported to the Connecticut
River. Returning the sand to the earth is considered a powerful symbol
of the transitory nature of life. During the building process, which
was open to the public, the mandala was surrounded by an exhibit of
sacred Tibetan Buddhist art on loan from Sarah Miller of Windsor,
Connecticut.
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, 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
deepest nature.
According to Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion Laura
Harrington, who gave a lecture in coordination with the start of the
project, “The most common translation of the Sanskrit term mandala is
circle, connoting not only the literal shape but a broader feeling of
wholeness, entirety, symmetry, and harmony. In ordinary language, we
often speak of a ‘circle of friends.’ The circularity of a mandala
retains something of that meaning, for it refers to a group of deities
related to a central deity or theme.”
The College’s connection with the Keydong Nunnery began in 1998 when
seven nuns came to campus, at the request of Professor of Theater and
Dance Judy Dworin, to create a mandala of compassion. That event
attracted more than 2,000 visitors. This year’s project, also arranged
by Dworin, is a collaborative effort between Wellesley College and
over 20 departments at Trinity.
“By meditating upon oneself as the deities of the mandala, reflecting
deeply upon its rich symbolism and engaging in particular internal
practices,” explains Harrington, “we can transform our daily
perception, lodged in its chaotic, egocentric world-environment, into
exalted wisdom and the perfected world of enlightened beings—that is,
into the blissful world of Buddhas.”
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