Fw Medicine Buddha Sand Mandala At WWC

[Guest guest]

Medicine Buddha Sand Mandala at WWC

>

>

>

> "The 2003 Shiwa Monks Tour: The Way of Tibetan

Healing and Peace"

will be

in

> residence at Warren Wilson College from November

10th to November

15th.

The

> main program at WWC will be the construction of a

"Medicine Buddha

Sand

> Mandala" - commencing with "Opening Rituals" at 8 PM

on Monday,

November

> 10th. A mandala is a sacred mansion, the home of a

particular

> meditation-deity, who represents and embodies

qualities ranging from

> healing, loving-kindness, wisdom and compassion.

Mandalas can be

painted

on

> canvas, built three-dimensional or, as in this case,

constructed from

> colored sand and crushed gemstones. Each mandala

consists of a formal

> geometric pattern of the ground plan of a sacred

mansion. It includes

a

> foundation, four entrances, walls and other

architectural elements.

Colored

> sand is applied to the mandala through the end of a

metal funnel,

which is

> rasped with another funnel in order to release a

fine stream of sand.

The

> monks will be painstakingly constructing an

intricate mandala over a

period

> of 6 days. Daily viewing of the progress of the

construction will be

open

> to the public

>

> An evening performance featuring traditional Tibetan

Buddhist ritual

dances,

> chanting, monastic-debate and ritual will be held at

the Warren

Wilson

> Chapel on Friday, November 15th at 8PM. Tickets for

the general

public

are

> $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students.

Admission for

children

> under 12 is free. Call (828) 771-5848 for locations

where tickets

will be

> on sale.

>

> An opportunity to get to know the monks in an

informal setting will

be

> available to the general public at "Tea with Monks"

on Tuesday,

November

11

> at 5PM at Jubilee!. Following tea is a "White Tara

Puja" (at 6PM) -

a

> traditional Tibetan Buddhist ritual for increasing

longevity, good

health,

> and inner and outer balance and harmony of

participants.

>

> A special forum on "Lives of Tibetan Monks in Exile"

will be held on

> Wednesday, November 12 at 5PM at Canon Lounge.

Monks will speak of

their

> experience re-establishing their monasteries and

rebuilding their

lives in

> South India. This forum will focus on issues such

as life as

refugees,

> relationship between Tibetans and their Indian

hosts, cultural and

ethnic

> identity and difference, traditions in transition,

the challenges of

and

> responses to modernity.

>

> The "highpoint" of this 6-day program will begin

with the "Medicine

Buddha

> Healing Ritual" at 2PM on Saturday, November 16th at

Canon Lounge.

After

> the ritual and blessing of participants, the entire

sand mandala will

be

> ritually deconstructed at 3PM on the same day and

the sacred sand

will be

> deposited in the Swannanoa River, where it will be

offered to the

spirits

of

> the land and water. This ritual-process reflects the

Buddhist

teaching of

> the cultivation of generosity and non-attachment in

the face of

change and

> impermanence.

>

> Apart from a desire to bring their unique cultural

and spiritual

heritage

to

> the world, the monks on this tour are also

fundraising for a badly

needed

> dormitory for about a thousand monks who are still

lacking in proper

> accommodation at Sera Jey Monastery in South India

(a monastery with

more

> than 2000 residents) where a large population of the

Tibetan people

have

> rebuilt their lives in exile from their homeland.

Proceeds from this

tour

> will also go towards the building of a Tibetan

Buddhist center in

Raleigh,

> NC.

>

>

> Program for November 10-15

>

> Opening Ceremony - 8 PM, Mon. 11/10 Daily Viewing -

10 AM - 9 PM,

Tue.

> 11/11 - Fri. 11/14 Healing Ritual - 2 PM, Sat.

11/15

> Closing Ceremony - 3 PM, Sat. 11/15 Venue: Canon

Lounge, Gladfelter

Student

> Ctr.

> Admission: Free for all events above (Suggested

donation: $5)

>

> "Tea with Monks" & White Tara Puja: 5 - 7 PM, Tue.

11/11

> Venue: Jubilee! Wall Street.

> Admission: Free (Suggested donation: $5)

> "Lives of Monks in Exile": 5PM, Wed. 11/12

> Venue: Canon Lounge, Gladfelter Student Center, WWC

> Admission: Free

> Public Performance - Monastic Dance, Chants,

Ritual and Debate

> 8 PM, Fri. 11/14 Venue: WWC Chapel,

> Admission: General public - $10 (adults), $5

(seniors & students),

for

> tickets call 828 771 5848

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

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