The Tibetan Buddhist Monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery have visted the Bastyr campus the past two years. Sponsored by the Student Council, the monks' peaceful and inspiring presence has become something students eagerly anticipate during midterms week.
The monks spent two days on campus, constructing a mandala sand painting. This artistic tradition of Tantric Buddhism involves laying millions of grains of sand painstakingly on a flat platform, over a period of days or weeks, to form the image of a mandala. To date the monks have created sand mandalas in over 50 U.S. museums.
"The monks travel all over the U.S .to raise awareness about the issues of Tibet," said Bastyr student council representative Jasmine Patel. "Their creation and dismantling of the mandala teaches us to be less materialistic by reminding us of the impermanence of all things."
The monks travel all over the United States in order to
raise funds for their monastery. The original monastery in Tibet had
over 10,000 monks. Now relocated to India, the monastery houses a total
of 2500.
The Tibetan Buddhist Monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery have visted the Bastyr campus the past two years. Sponsored by the Student Council, the monks' peaceful and inspiring presence has become something students eagerly anticipate during midterms week.