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Tibetan Monks Visit USC

Students have the opportunity to watch a sand mandala in process at the USC Religious Center. When the mandala is completed, it will be swept away as a symbol of life's impermanence. 

For the first time at USC, students have the opportunity to watch Tibetan monks create a sand mandala, a sacred sand painting in honor of the Dalai Lama. The event, hosted by USC Religious Center, gives students an opportunity to explore Tibetan culture. 

“It’s both an artwork and a meditative practice and so I really wanted to show students what that looks like in a different culture, different environment, in a different religious tradition,” USC Dean of Religious Life Varun Soni said. “All of the students that came through seemed fascinated by the whole process and I’m really excited to have had the opportunity.”

Mandalas vary in appearance depending on the theme. The art is done on tabletops and is comprised of many different colors of sand and different symbols. The USC theme is compassion. 

“The center of the theme of the mandala is compassion and that is really much represented by the lotus flower in the center,” Gyalrong Khentul Rinpoche, a Tibetan monk visiting from India, said. “So the lotus is associated with purity and clarity so that is the symbolic link between the lotus and compassion.”

Creating a mandala requires excruciating patience and attention to detail. Monks are sought out for their artistic ability and spend one-to-two years mastering the art. 

“As for the monks who are creating the mandala, they have to maintain a strict physical and mental discipline,” Rinpoche said. “They can’t breathe out so strongly that it will blow out the sand or they can’t breathe so light it will put further stress on their body.”

This isn’t the first time the monks have made an appearance on camera. Some of the monks from the monastery were filmed creating a sand mandala in Season 3 of the Netflix hit series “House of Cards.”

“Initially there was a little bit of a misgivings how might it be presented because it’s a show with a very dark plot so so I was a little bit worried about in what context it will be presented, but then I think they have done it quite respectful,” Rinpoche said.

The monks are traveling from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in India. They are touring universities across America to spread awareness of the Tibetan culture. Their next stop is Pico Union before they leave for Las Vegas. 

“The reason why we came to America is to bring awareness to the Americans about this message of oneness, of oneness of humanity of his Holiness the Dalai Lama; and also to raise awareness about the Tibetan issue and third, to raise funds for the monastery,” Rinpoche said.

When the sand mandala is completed, it is swept away to symbolize life’s impermanence. The USC mandala will be swept away at the dissolution ceremony Friday afternoon.

“It’s really nice to see how they put the sand onto the mandala,” USC student Eesen Sivapalan said. “It’s almost like a form of meditation where they’re working so hard and so diligently.”

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