Time Lapse Photography of Tibetan Monk Sand Mandala

[tekisui]

Really incredible:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/musaeum/4017197748/

[Celebration]

1. very interesting

Beautiful, isn't it? Thanks for posting!

[Mira]

2. Mind blowing.

Do you know, Tekisui, why they seem to destroy it immediately on completion. I have run across this before and there is a spiritual reason for it as I vaguely remember. Something about honoring transience or some such.
Man, I'd like to be able to step up to it and admire it for a long time....

Thanks for the post

[tekisui]

3. Ritual destruction

Ritual destruction

The destruction of a sand mandala is also highly ceremonial. Even the deity syllables are removed in a specific order, along with the rest of the geometry until at last the mandala has been dismantled. The sand is collected in a jar which is then wrapped in silk and transported to a river (or any place with moving water), where it is released back into nature. For this reason, the materials keeping with the symbolism are never used twice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_mandala

[1monster]

5. Just watched a video about this the other day. The major theme behind Tibetan Buddhism is

impermanence.

Tibet was once one of the most warlike civilizations. They conquered the Khans of Mongolia, toppled a Chinese dynasty, and even made their presence felt as far away as Persia.

Then, almost suddenly, they took up Buddhism and changed from a war based society to the most spiritual and peaceful society on Earth.

The basis of their society is the impermanence of everything...even the Tibetan society.

[Celebration]

6. and not to mention

if you meet the Buddha, you kill the Buddha.....

:shrug:

[HappyCynic]

4. That video is amazing

I've heard about the sand mandala before and seen some images but I think this is the first time I've seen a time lapse video. The skill, patience, and artistry of the monks - for both the design and the creation - is just unbelievable.