Today, Saturday Short presents a sand mandala of the deity Chakrasamvara created by Lama Karma Tenzin at the Rubin Museum in New York City. It took Lama Karma more than two weeks to create the artwork, comprising millions of grains of crushed marble, and just two minutes to destroy. (Note: The video is without audio.)
Lama Karma appeared at the museum in conjunction with "The Dragon's Gift - The Sacred Arts of Bhutan" exhibition (2008). The show featured nearly 90 artworks, including gilt bronze and wooden sculptures, ancient and modern ritual objects, and thangkas (paintings and images created with applique and embroidery framed in brocade).
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5 comments:
Why??? What am I not getting?
Ritual requires the mandala be destroyed. Destruction serves as a metaphor to denote life's impermanence.
Prayers are said throughout the building of the mandala, which is a sacred art form. When the ritual building is completed, the destruction, as Maureen said, serves as a reminder to impermanence. However, in the destruction, prayers are also said, and if the practitioner is adept the metaphor will be transformational, as in, no longer a metaphor. The sands used to build the mandala are gathered and usually dispersed in a nearby body of water, if possible, where more prayers are said. It is a moving ritual. Rituals, when done with high intention and belief, have the power to transform.
Thank you, Kate, for the additional explanation. I have been privileged to attend an event such as took place at the Rubin (which is one of my favorite museums) and have indeed been moved deeply by the ceremony.
Oh... wow. Beautiful explanations. Thank you both.
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