Last year I had the honour of witnessing the creation of a sand mandala. Over five days two monks from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery fashioned this extraordinary work.
An integral part of the ritual is the destruction of the mandala. The sands are swept up and placed in moving water. This is to remind us of the impermanence of all things and to guard against attachment.
I was walking through Mendoza city centre today and I came across a protest. The protester’s anger was directed at foreign banks. At one stage they surrounded a branch of Citi Bank. Under the cover of the crowd, slogans were spray painted across the building.
I respect protesting as a right in an open society. It should not have to extend to property damage but that’s their form of expression. Plaza Independencia, close to the site of the protest, has a large fountain and water feature. I passed the Plaza as I walked back to the hostel and it reminded me of skipping stones on Lake Nahuel Haupi. This, in turn, made me recall the sand mandala.
The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama. Most people are aware of the Dalai Lama. In Buddhism the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is revealed to the Panchen Lama and vica versa the Panchen Lama is revealed to the Dalai Lama.
In this way the Chinese will have broken the chain of succession if they can hold the Panchen Lama until the death of the current Dalai Lama. If ever a people had a reason to protest it is the Tibetans.
The more I see of the natural wonders this planet has to offer the more I understand the concepts that Buddhism espouses. Our concept of time is so short. The Glaciers I saw took hundreds of thousands of years to carve great valleys but carve they did. A few meters a year they eventually moved mountains. A drop of water given enough time can wear away a mountain.
Today I offer a drop of water for the release of the 11th Panchen Lama and the return of exiled Tibetans to their homeland.
An integral part of the ritual is the destruction of the mandala. The sands are swept up and placed in moving water. This is to remind us of the impermanence of all things and to guard against attachment.
I was walking through Mendoza city centre today and I came across a protest. The protester’s anger was directed at foreign banks. At one stage they surrounded a branch of Citi Bank. Under the cover of the crowd, slogans were spray painted across the building.
I respect protesting as a right in an open society. It should not have to extend to property damage but that’s their form of expression. Plaza Independencia, close to the site of the protest, has a large fountain and water feature. I passed the Plaza as I walked back to the hostel and it reminded me of skipping stones on Lake Nahuel Haupi. This, in turn, made me recall the sand mandala.
The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama. Most people are aware of the Dalai Lama. In Buddhism the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is revealed to the Panchen Lama and vica versa the Panchen Lama is revealed to the Dalai Lama.
In May 1995 Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the six-year-old boy identified by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, disappeared. Suspicions that he had been kidnapped were confirmed in May 1996 when the Chinese leadership admitted to holding him and his family in "protective custody." After repeated attempts to gain access to the boy, no international agencies or human rights organizations (including the United Nations) have been allowed to visit Gedun Choekyi Nyima or his family, and their condition remains uncertain.
In this way the Chinese will have broken the chain of succession if they can hold the Panchen Lama until the death of the current Dalai Lama. If ever a people had a reason to protest it is the Tibetans.
The more I see of the natural wonders this planet has to offer the more I understand the concepts that Buddhism espouses. Our concept of time is so short. The Glaciers I saw took hundreds of thousands of years to carve great valleys but carve they did. A few meters a year they eventually moved mountains. A drop of water given enough time can wear away a mountain.
Today I offer a drop of water for the release of the 11th Panchen Lama and the return of exiled Tibetans to their homeland.
I was lucky to have touch and eye contact with dalAi lama in July At chenrezig as a volunteer...all roads lead...
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