Quick sand?
Hardly. The Tibetan monks’ sand mandala is a labor of love.
By Eliot Sekuler
For the TODAY
Photos by Photo by James Abke, @en_route_media_inc
Tibetan sacred rituals, music, workshops, meditation sessions and the intricate creation of mandalas will be featured in a broad interfaith program as four saffron-robed Buddhist monks visit several Oregon Coast towns this month. Each stop on their journey will offer a unique mix of events.
Their three-week visit, titled the “Compassion, Wisdom and Enlightened Action Tour,” runs from February 11 through 15 in Lincoln City; continues in Yachats from February 17 through 22; and concludes its Lincoln County schedule in Newport from February 24 through March 1. The monks will also make a special appearance in Waldport on Sunday, Feb. 22.
Organized by the Lincoln County Friends of Tibet, the Oregon Coast visit is part of a six-month-long tour across the Western United States with a three-fold objective.
“One key purpose for the tour is to provide a way for Tibetans to share their culture and to help keep that culture alive,” said Friends’ co-founder Tripp Mikich. “Tibetan Buddhism is integral to Buddhist culture; they’re one and the same thing.”
A second purpose is to share the teachings of the Buddha.
“The third reason for this tour is fund-raising: to raise money for the maintenance of the monks’ monastery,” said Mikich, who listed a variety of projects ranging from the construction of new classrooms and new dormitories to the provision of medical services to the monks and students at the visiting monks’ home base at Gaden Shartse Monastic College in South India.
Though admission to all of the tour’s events is free, donations are welcomed.
Gaden Shartse Monastic College currently serves some 1,800 resident students at its site in the South Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of two Indian states that provided a refuge to Tibetan refugees who fled their country following the 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation and the violent crackdown on Tibetan culture, religion and autonomy that followed. The Chinese government has increasingly sought to eradicate Tibetan culture, religion and language. The refugee communities in India and other scattered communities, led by Tibet’s revered spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, have labored to preserve it and undertakings such as the monks’ tour play a significant role in that preservation.
As they make their way through the Oregon Coast, the four monks will be offering unique presentations at each stop.
“We structured the three stops to present a progression of experiences and teachings that begin with the most basic understanding of Buddhism: the Four Noble Truths,” Mikich said. “As the tour progresses, we’ll offer programs that take it a step further.”
Among the highlights is the Vajradan Healing and Purification Ceremony, a ritual for cleansing negativity, taking place only during the monks’ five-day visit at the Lincoln City Cultural Center. The Yachats Commons will be the site of a Tibetan New Year celebration. The five-day visit to Newport’s Samaritan Center for Health Education will include a Lojong Tibetan Mind Training session. Also in Newport, the monks will serve momos, Tibet’s famous stuffed dumplings to guests at a Monks and Momos fund-raising dinner, with location provided upon ticket purchase. A butter sculpture demonstration will be held at Newport Public Library.
The tour will venture to Waldport for a Lunch with the Monks event, followed by a guided meditation.
Some activities will be duplicated at each site. At each stop, the monks will hold guided meditations and will create sand mandalas, the intricate, geometric designs that require between 75 and 125 hours of painstaking effort to create.
Each of the tour sites will feature a different mandala, representing the celestial palace of specific deities. The process of creating the mandalas will continue throughout the stay at each site and will be open to the public.
“We have people who come and just sit in the room for hours to watch them,” Mikich said.
Following the completion of each mandala, the monks will hold a dissolution ceremony in which the carefully crafted mandala is ritually swept into a pile of sand which, in turn, is poured into the ocean as an offering to the beings of the sea and as an act of purification for the surrounding environment. The ritual creation and dissolution of the mandala symbolize the core Buddhist principle of the impermanence of all worldly things.
Beyond the immediate objectives of the tour, Mikich has a personal goal.
“I hope it will open people up to new things,” he said. “I hope it inspires people to open their hearts to a wider range of experiences that's not limited by our constant pushing away at the things we don't like or grasping at the things we like.”
For a schedule of all events and a more detailed description of all events on the monks’ tour, go to lcfriendsoftibet.org or call 530-748-9365.
Wednesday, Feb. 11, to Sunday, Feb. 15
Lincoln City Cultural Center, 540 NE Hwy. 101
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 6:30 pm – Green Tara Sand Mandala opening ceremony
Thursday, Feb, 12, 6:30 pm – Vajravadaran healing and purification ceremony with audience participation
Friday, Feb. 13, 10 am – Four Noble Truths: The Buddha’s first teaching
Friday, Feb. 13, 6:30 pm – Green Tara empowerment for enlightened action and compassion
Saturday, Feb. 14, 10 am – Butter sculpture workshop and Tibetan calligraphy demonstration (all ages)
Saturday, Feb. 14, 7 pm – Tibetan Cultural Night: Chöd ceremony, chant and music, monastic debate and audience Q&A
Sunday, Feb. 15, 10 am – Meditation workshop with the monks (all experience levels)
Sunday, Feb. 15, 4 pm – Green Tara sand mandala dissolution ceremony
Tuesday, Feb. 17, to Sunday, Feb. 22
Yachats Commons, 441 Hwy. 101 North
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 6 pm – Avalokiteshvara sand mandala opening and Heart Sutra puja
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 6 pm – Tsok offering for wisdom and overcoming obstacles
Thursday, Feb. 19, 6 pm – Green Tara puja for compassionate action and enlightenment
Friday, Feb. 20, 10 am – Lojong Tibetan mind training
Friday, Feb. 20, 6:30 pm – Avalokiteshvara empowerment ceremony for great compassion
Saturday, Feb. 21, 10 am – Butter sculpture workshop and Tibetan calligraphy demonstration (all ages)
6:30 pm – Tibetan Cultural Night: Chöd ceremony, chant and music, monastic debate and audience Q&A
Sunday, Feb. 22, 4 pm – Avalokiteshvara sand mandala dissolution ceremony
Sunday, Feb. 22
St. Luke By the Sea Episcopal Church, 1353 Hwy. 101 South, Waldport
12:30 pm – Lunch with the monks and peace and compassion guided meditation
Saturday, Feb. 28
11 am – Butter sculpture workshop and Tibetan calligraphy demonstration
Newport Public Library, 35 NW Nye Street
Tuesday, Feb. 24, to Sunday, March 1
Samaritan Center for Health Education, 740 SW 9th Street, Newport
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 6:30 pm – Manjushri sand mandala opening ceremony
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 6:30 pm – Lojong Tibetan mind training
Thursday, Feb. 26, 6:30 pm – Chay Drol ceremony for well-being and removing negativity
Friday, Feb. 27, 10 am – Aging, death and rebirth from a Buddhist perspective
Friday, Feb. 27, 7 pm – Tibetan Cultural Night: Chöd ceremony, chant and music, monastic debate and audience Q&A
Sunday, Feb. 29, 10 am – Eight Verse mind training
Sunday, Feb. 29, 2 pm – Manjushri empowerment ceremony
Sunday, Feb. 29, 4 pm – Manjushri sand mandala dissolution ceremony