Mandala Dissolution Ceremony PART 3/3

This is the third part of the tibetan buddhist ceremony involving the dissolution of the sand Mandala (tib. Kilkhor) of "Avalokiteshvara", the compassionate aspect of enlightenment. This simple -rather touching- ceremony was held in Bologna on the 6th of January 2009 by three venerable monks from the monastery of Gaden Jangtse (Kamataka - South India) with the personal blessings of Gyalwa Rinpoche Yeshe Norbu, the Dalai Lama.

A sand Mandala is a symbolic map of the entire universe, viewed through the eyes of an enlightened being (in this case, the Yidam or meditational deity "Avalokiteshvara").
By meditating upon this drawing, the practitioner can gradually transform his view of the universe into the one portrayed in the Mandala, becoming enlightened himself in the aspect of Avalokiteshvara.

Here the venerable monk takes away a little bit of sand from every corner of the mandala in the correct order, symbolically dismantling it. Then, with the tip of the ritual implement called "Dorje" (Sanskrit: "Vajra"), he cuts through it in the eight cardinal directions. After that, the mandala is no longer sacred. Now the sand can be swept in the center, then collected in a vase and distributed to the assembly as a blessing and a reminder of Impermanence (Sanskrit: "Anitya").

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[Valiond1974]

This is something most of us would never have gotten to see if you hadn't posted it. Thank you so much for doing so. Just beautiful.

[sexGURU81]

dude that was beautiful. i've just read the description of that...rather clear and simple. my best wishes