Medicine Buddha Mandala Sand Painting
December 22, 2026 @ 8:00 am
The venerable monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery on their Mystical Arts of Tibet tour will be constructing a Medicine Buddha mandala sand painting for health and well-being at the Vietnamese Temple from December 15-22, 2019 (except for December 19).
Opening ceremony is Dec. 15 @ 11 AM
Closing ceremony is Dec. 22 @ 11 AM
Closing ceremony is Dec. 22 @ 11 AM
Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning sacred cosmogram.
However, the most spectacular and enduringly popular are those made from colored sand. From all the artistic traditions of Tantric
Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. In Tibetan, the art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which literally means “mandala of colored powders.”
Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. In Tibetan, the art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which literally means “mandala of colored powders.”
The mandalas are used as tools for reconsecrating the earth and healing its inhabitants. They are formed of a traditionally prescribed iconography that includes geometric shapes and a multitude of ancient spiritual symbols.
To construct the mandala, millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks. When finished, the mandala is destroyed to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists, and the colored sands are swept up and poured into a nearby river or stream where the waters carry the healing energies throughout the world.