Tibetan Sand Paintings
THE BEAUTY OF IMPERMANENCE
Museums, galleries, artists, and collectors go to great lengths to protect and promote the longevity of their works of art. But what if the art is meant to literally blow away once it has been created? The importance of Tibetan sand paintings lies not in their permanence, but in their transient nature. Created by Tibetan monks, sand paintings, or mandalas, are intricately designed geometric compositions of pulverized, colored marble shaken down long steel tubes into a chalk-outlined design on a flat surface. Sand, flowers, and semi-precious stones are also incorporated into the designs. The mandala, its shape representing the multi-layered nature of the cosmos, is created for healing or purification purposes. According to Buddhist scripture, the mandala conveys positive energy to the environment and to the viewer, and its construction is surrounded in ritual and ceremony, involving singing, chanting, and music.
Once complete, the sand is swept up and dispersed in flowing water—a metaphor for life’s impermanence as well as an effective method for distributing the healing power of the mandala to the earth. Many of these works take weeks to create, so if you are lucky enough to witness the creation of a sand painting, make sure you don’t sneeze—the entire design would have to be unceremoniously swept away and begun again! —SBR
A one-of-a-kind completed Tibetan sand mandala painting.