A Tibetan monk built a sand mandala in a prayer for peace and an end to the COVID-19 pandemic as the Museum of World Religions in New Taipei City reopened on Wednesday.
A sand mandala is a form of Tibetan religious art using ground minerals to form geometric patterns and holy symbols, the museum said in a news release.
Prayers to buddhas and bodhisattvas are given, and scriptures are chanted before creating a sand mandala, a reverent meditation on life and impermanence, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Museum of World Religions
Mandala are incredibly difficult to construct, said Cho Ching-mei (卓靜美), the museum’s director of exhibitions and collections.
They are easily damaged, embodying transience, Cho said.
The art form is an appropriate reflection of the state of the world and Taiwan as it eases COVID-19 restrictions, she said.
The mandala was created by Taiwan-based Tibetan monk I Hsi Sang-chu (義喜桑珠) in the sixth-floor hall of the museum in Yonghe District (永和), Cho said.
Following the mandala’s ritual dismantling, the sand is to be distributed in glass vials to the first 10 museum visitors each day from yesterday to Aug. 18, she said.
Two vials would be given to visitors selected at random on Aug. 14 and 15 during a special exhibit on tokens of love from cultures worldwide, she said.
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