Summer 2004

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Tibetan Monks Complete Mandala Sand Painting in Milne

In April, several Tibetan Monks visited Geneseo to construct a mandala sand painting as the closing event of the Limelight & Accents Performing Arts Series. The monks spent four days painstakingly setting into place millions of grains of beautifully colored sand, while visitors stopped into Milne Library to watch them work. On April 21, when the monks completed the painting, they invoked the spirit of Buddha and destroyed the painting, symbolizing the impermanence of all that exists. Then, the monks gathered the sand and poured it into an unnamed tributary of the Genesee River so the healing energy of the mandala would become infused in this stream that connects with other bodies of water to ultimately connect with the oceans of the world.

Photos by Ron Pretzer