Watch Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery create a stunning, colorful mandala sand painting at Asia Society Texas Center from Thursday, August 20 through Sunday, August 23, 2015.
In a scene that will be familiar to viewers of Netflix’s season three of House of Cards, Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery will construct a mandala sand painting and perform special ceremonies in Asia Society Texas Center’s Louisa Stude Sarofim Gallery.
During this ritual, millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place in order to purify and heal the environment and its inhabitants. Once they painting is complete, the monks will disassemble the painting in a closing ceremony. The ceremony will begin at 3pm on Sunday, August 23, so visitors wishing to see the completed work should be sure to arrive before that time.
Guests will be able to view the monks’ progress in person and online through Asia Society Texas Center’s website.
Special Ceremonies for The Mystical Arts of Tibet
- Opening Ceremony | Thursday, August 20, 2015 – The mandala sand painting begins with an opening ceremony at noon, during which the lamas consecrate the site and call forth the forces of goodness through chanting, music and mantra recitation. The lamas then begin the painting by drawing an outline of the mandala on a wooden platform. In the following days, they lay the colored sands using a traditional metal funnel called a chakpur. Guests will be able to view the monks’ progress in person and online through Asia Society Texas Center’s website.
- All Day Community Sand Painting | Saturday, August 22, 2015 – Guests are invited to take part in the art by contributing to a separate community sand painting. Instructions will be given to participants on how to use the chakpur to fill in the design with sand. The painting will project will last all day during the museum’s normal 10am to 6pm operating hours.
- Closing Ceremony | Sunday, August 23, 2015 – The monks will dismantle the mandala, sweeping up the colored sands to symbolize the impermanence of life. Half of the sand will be distributed to the audience at the closing ceremony, while the remainder will be deposited into a natural body of water.
About Mandala Sand Paintings
An artistic tradition of Tantric Buddhism, mandala sand paintings are created by painstakingly laying millions of grains of sand into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks. When finished, the sands form the image of a mandala. To date, the monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery have created mandala sand paintings in more than 100 museums, art centers, and colleges and universities in the United States and Europe.
Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning “sacred cosmogram.” These cosmograms can be created in various media, such as watercolor on canvas, wood carvings and others. However, the most spectacular and enduringly popular are those made from colored sand.
In general, all mandalas have outer, inner, and secret meanings. On the outer level they represent the world in its divine form; on the inner level they represent a map by which the ordinary human mind is transformed into enlightened mind; and on the secret level they depict the primordially perfect balance of the subtle energies of the body and the clear-light dimension of the mind. The creation of a sand painting is said to effect purification and healing on these three levels.
About Asia Society Texas Center
With 11 locations throughout the world, Asia Society is the leading educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. Asia Society Texas Center executes the global mission with a local focus, enriching and engaging the vast diversity of Houston through innovative, relevant programs in arts and culture, business and policy, education, and community outreach.
The Mystical Arts of Tibet at Asia Society Texas Center
- Dates: Thursday, August 20 to Sunday, August 23, 2015
- Times: Noon to 6pm Thursday; 10am to 6pm Friday to Sunday
- Location: Asia Society Texas Center, 1370 Southmore Blvd., Houston, TX 77004
- Admission: The exhibition and its related events are free and open to the public.
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