SAND MANDALA
Making a sand mandala is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist ritual. Mandala means “circle” in Sanskrit. You must be very careful, calm, and focused in order to create these intricate designs with tiny grains of sand. Making a mandala is a form of meditation.
After completing the mandala, we will sweep it up and the sand will be poured into the nearby creek where it will eventually return to the ocean to begin a new cycle.
The sand mandala teaches about impermanence: Everything in the world changes. You will never be in this grade again, in this season again, in this day again, in this moment again. People grow old, the seasons change, the world changes.
So the sand mandala teaches us to be completely aware in the present moment, but not to be attached. Because we know that in the next moment, everything could be different.
Making a sand mandala is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist ritual. Mandala means “circle” in Sanskrit. You must be very careful, calm, and focused in order to create these intricate designs with tiny grains of sand. Making a mandala is a form of meditation.
After completing the mandala, we will sweep it up and the sand will be poured into the nearby creek where it will eventually return to the ocean to begin a new cycle.
The sand mandala teaches about impermanence: Everything in the world changes. You will never be in this grade again, in this season again, in this day again, in this moment again. People grow old, the seasons change, the world changes.
So the sand mandala teaches us to be completely aware in the present moment, but not to be attached. Because we know that in the next moment, everything could be different.
