Toddler dances on monks’ intricate painting

[proud2BlibKansan]

Toddler dances on monks’ intricate painting
By MATT CAMPBELL The Kansas City Star
A toddler danced through an intricate sand design built over two days at Union Station by monks.

* Security camera shows toddler dancing on monks' mandala at Union Station Video from the Associated Press VIDEO http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/story/119843.html

This week eight Tibetan monks spent two days crosslegged on the floor at Union Station, leaning over to meticulously create an intricate colored sand design as an expression of their Buddhist faith.

And then, within seconds, their work was destroyed by a toddler.

After the monks had finished their labors for the day on Tuesday, a woman with her small child visited the post office inside Union Station. The child, apparently attracted by the pretty colors, wandered over to play with it.

“He did a little tap dance on it, completely destroying it,” said Lama Chuck Stanford of the Rime center.

more . . . http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/story/119843.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. That's sweet.

The monks were probably delighted.

[SpiralHawk]

5. A blessing from the baby's happy feet.

How perfectly divine...

[TahitiNut]

56. Absolutely. What better than to show impermanence and the innocence of a child at the same time?

I can't imagine anything but a Buddhist monk expressing humor and happiness at the child.

[TankLV]

96. That's my first thought too - how wonderfully childlike and innocent and playful...

Delighted...

[mainegreen]

156. My first though too. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Watch the video!

Why don't people keep their kids from roaming all over in public??

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. It's a shame that more people...

didn't have the chance to see this work of art, but I am sure the monks are just fine with this -- they would have destroyed it themselves once they had finished making it. That is the whole point of the mandala -- it's creation and destruction is designed to show the impermanence of life.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

It's a shame they don't make enough for everybody to dance in.

:shrug:

[TomInTib]

15. And then she grabs the little darling's hand and walks away.

I won't let the little bastards come in one of our galleries.

Kid about six years old picked up a fine jade necklace, said, "Look, Mommy", and snapped it. She just said, "Austin, you shouldn't do that" and walked away.

[Gormy Cuss]

29. There in is the problem. The kid is being a kid. The mother is setting a bad example

and the woman on the video -- I'd love to know what she was thinking after she saw the mess the kid made.

[TankLV]

102. Oh brother - the lesson is completely lost on you...

[jollyreaper2112]

115. what's the lesson?

Yeah, I can accept the whole learning lesson thing when the kid is messing up the parent's property. There's a nice quote by a famous professor guy talking about how his mom handled him spilling milk, letting him dab about in it a bit and then walk through the process of cleaning it up instead of yelling at him. It impressed problem-solving on him at a young age and all that, very nice. But this mandala wasn't her property. Parents have got to keep their gromits on a leash. What if he'd playfully wandered into traffic instead? Yeah, kids are kids and that's why they're supposed to have parents. You know, for PARENTING. Fucking opies.

[donheld]

132. Oh please do tell. What is this grand lesson

I seem to have missed it too. :eyes:

[Clark2008]

111. What galleries are those?

So I'll know not to frequent any of them.

Wow! Talk about missing the point!

[orleans]

138. i think the point he was making was that some parents fail to "parent"

or teach their children to behave, or respect others, or respect the property of others. and look how indifferent and cavalier that mother's reaction was when her kid broke the jade necklace.

and...

(speaking as a mom) where the hell was that woman and why wasn't she paying attention to her kid? someone could have walked off with him, he could have run out of the building and into traffic. she was extremely negligent.

when my daughter was little i didn't walk into a post office or any other public place and just fucking turn her loose. she stayed by me, i'd talk to her, i watched her, if she wanted to go across a room and look at something i never took my eyes off her.

i didn't act as if she was some kind of burden that i could hardly wait to get away from. she was a joy--and a treasure, and i treated her in kind.

and--to show what type of a person this woman is--she did not report the incident, or apologize to anyone over the fact that her kid destroyed it....no. she grabbed his arm, pulled him out from under the rope and got the fuck out of there. what a bitch!

[Book Lover]

139. Perhaps she did not want to make a scene?

Were I in her position, I would pull my kid aside to scold her (not that I would let her out of my sight in a public building on purpose), and not make a scene in the middle of a room. I am sure if the mother had done so, the self-righteous here would be horrified about that, too.

[orleans]

141. it's okay--you don't have to make excuses for people who exhibit

crappy parenting skills and people who don't have the decency to fess up when they fucked up by letting their child mess something up or break it.

[Book Lover]

148. You misunderstand me

I am hardly apologizing. I am reacting to the holier-than-thou attitude I read all over this thread.

[TomInTib]

154. I am talking about shitty parents and their fucked-up kids.

I do not allow any of those miserable people in any of our galleries (which are located in San Francisco and Marin, by the way).

I know a good bit about raising kids. One of mine is a professional baseball player and one is on the road with Carlos Santana.

[Karenina]

26. The kid was just subbing for the Buddha.

:rofl:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. Or...

maybe he was the Buddha.

:shrug:

[conscious evolution]

122. I was just thinking that.

Amazing how enlightened the little ones are.
Too bad we outgrow it.

[Critters2]

43. Having watched the video, the thing that most struck me

was that a mother would leave her child this unattended in so public a place. She's lucky all that happened was he messed up that mandala.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

50. Did it strike you...

that maybe the mother was never out of earshot?

Jeeesus...

[Doremus]

61. Perhaps not, but look at all the mischief he got into without making a sound.

Those who would abduct a child wouldn't call attention to themselves by making a racket, either.

She is very lucky actually.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

74. Sure.

Or maybe Snidely Whiplash could have jumped out of the corners and sold the kid real-estate in florida.

[Doremus]

85. I'm sure all the parents of kidnapped children who were

within earshot might have a slightly different, less sarcastic, take, but whateva.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

87. Hey... maybe the MOM was a pedophile!

ZOMG! Call Nancy Grace! Toddler Abducted from Museum in Broad Daylight Caught on Video!

[Maddy McCall]

90. The mom was in another room in Union Station.

She was nowhere near the kid when he did that. If you watch the video, it's apparent that she was in another room, behind a closed door.

Lots of bad stuff can happen to a toddler in that small window of time, especially in that public of a place. Kidnapping was not the only danger.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

92. My god, the cognitive dissonance is amazing.

Apparently people are so insecure about their own selves, that they have to pretend that they're better parents than other people. They can't get mad at the kid, since the monks obviously aren't, so they have to pretend that this mom is a bad parent, and then make up weird shit about pedophiles, or how the video shows the mother leaving the room, behind a closed door, when it shows no such thing.

Good lord.

[Maddy McCall]

93. So, because I never left my toddler alone, I am only "pretending"

to be a better parent than her?

No...I'm not pretending...I never left my son alone in a public place, not for 15 seconds, not for 10 seconds.

If that's the criterion by which we're judging parenting, then, yeah, I'm a much better parent than her.

The problem wasn't the kid. The problem was a completely inattentive mother. If there were no artwork on the floor, it would have been every bit as disturbing to see a toddler left alone for that long.

And on edit, you seem not to know what cognitive dissonance is.

[Maine-ah]

98. I agree with you MM

[Maddy McCall]

100. Beautiful sig photo, Maine-ah.

:hi:

[cherokeeprogressive]

134. Totally Agree

Any time I was in a public place with my infant daughter she was on my shoulders with my fingers interlaced behind her back. She had the best view around since I'm six feet tall and loved it so much that it was pretty much a demand of hers. Finally, at about 75lbs, she became too heavy for me to carry for more than about 30 minutes at a time. From that point forward, we alternated between that and hand holding. It was almost always her that reached for my hand.

She's fifteen now and when she's mine for the weekend or weeks during the summer we still hold hands while walking the mall, swap-meet, county fair, or wherever.

I did it at first because I was paranoid. She didn't know anything other than love of her father's shoulders. Law of Unintended Consequences I guess. In the end, we both win.

[jollyreaper2112]

116. you're missing the point

Parents have to watch out for their kids. What do most parents think when bad shit happens to someone else's kid? "Damn, there but for the grace of God go I." Parents make lots of mistakes all the time, they're just lucky that not all of them are fatal. If you try to keep a kid completely safe he's going to walk around bundled up like the kids from Christmas Story and get laughed at by the other kids. Kids have to be given some freedom. But this is a case of not knowing what the hell the kid is up to. Who the hell lets their kid out of eyesight in a public place like this? Well, maybe some other good parents have had lapses like that, where the kid goes off and does something astoundingly stupid and they just missed it happening. They were lucky that it wasn't caught on tape and spread across the interwebs. And so those people are probably thinking "Damn, how could this have turned out poorly?"

As an example every driver experiences, sometimes your attention isn't totally on the road. You know you're supposed to but sometimes distractions happen. You have a close call. SHIT! Your heart is crawling up your throat but you came through it, no harm. But it could have gone so much worse. So when you see someone else get into an accident from not paying attention, you get upset. Or if you see someone almost get into one from not paying attention it's like "Do you realize how close you came to maiming and death? Were you even paying attention?"

I don't think this is about people just looking for someone to pile on because it's fun.

[JNelson6563]

147. Forget it.

There are some who see it one way and some another. The mother of this child reminds me of my SIL who is the worst mother when it comes to this. That child of hers is the worst behaved child I've ever known when the mom is around. Amazingly the child is much better behaved when mom isn't around to smile stupidly at her terrible behavior thereby giving her stamp of "approval". Her over indulgence of this child is alreaady leading to some issues that will be lifelong, namely the relationship to food. It's really quite horrifying to see where this is going. I could easily see this girl doing what the boydid to the art in this story. I can just as easily see my SIL smiling stupidly and shrugging it off.

Ugh.

Julie

[proud2BlibKansan]

127. Keeping my eye on my kid in a public place makes me a bad parent?

LOL That's a new one. :rofl:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

150. LOL, it is a new one.

Where on earth did you get that idea?

[Doremus]

101. Children can be and are abducted from their own beds not 10 feet from their parents.

Your smartass attitude is beyond poor taste, I might add.

[Occulus]

129. Why do you think I have that particular poster on ignore

I bet it's someone acting like a Hooligan again.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

149. Yes, exactly.

A child could be abducted any moment from their own beds! Have you heard about these horrible parents who allow their child to sleep in their own bedrooms, many feet away from their parents bedrooms, and they don't even watch their kids sleep? Don't they know that while they're lazily sleeping in bed, somebody could abduct their kids? What shitty parents.

But seriously... what's in bad taste is these reducto ad absurdum Dr. Laura type attacks on this mother.

[riderinthestorm]

158. Uh, or responsible parents lock the doors and windows of their house when they sleep.

Just like they keep close tabs on their children in public spaces.

:shrug:

This mother IS irresponsible, no two ways about it.

[Maddy McCall]

97. You obviously didn't watch the video.

Maybe you should do that before you continue to harangue people who have opinions not like yours.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

151. Funny, thing is, I did watch the video.

It clearly shows her leaving the frame, nothing about this walking into another room stuff that you made up.

[proud2BlibKansan]

68. Yes that's what I thought too

[Clark2008]

112. That bothered me more than the kid acting like a kid, myself.

My son would have never been unattended for that long.

He might have gotten a toe-in, but that would have been it.

[TankLV]

104. why can't the kids stop all this giggling and playing and dancing!

sit still and be quiet!...

[Donnachaidh]

3. We really teach our kids to respect others, don't we?

That mother should be grateful the Buddhists are so patient.

[conscious evolution]

7. The monks were probably

laughing their ass's off about it.
They would have destroyed the mandala anyway after a couple of days.A toddler doing it is almost a blessing for their work.

[Donnachaidh]

10. I know the mandala was going to be destroyed

But it was rude for the mother to allow her child to destroy their work.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. It was dumb of her to take her eyes off of him

That was my first thought.

[TankLV]

103. That's truly sad...

the lesson is obviously lost on you...

string the kid up - no food or water for a week - and a severe thrashing with the buckle end of a belt when dad gets home no doubt...

[riderinthestorm]

108. While appreciating the zen of the dancing child, one can also be appalled at the mother's parenting

Chances are predators who snatch unattended children (unattended for more than a minute in Union Station?!) probably would string the kid up with no food or water for a week, and a severe thrashing by a belt is probably the last of what they endure....

:(

As a rape advocate, I actually was an advocate for a child who had been snatched while left unattended in a mall when she was 8 years old. It's beyond horrifying and nothing to joke about. That mother's negligence placed her child in terrible jeopardy.

[proud2BlibKansan]

125. The lesson should be that you don't let your kid wander off in public

And the kid is not the one who needs to be punished.

That lesson is obviously lost on you.

[Occulus]

131. Dude. That's a SERIOUSLY fucked up post. n/t

[Matsubara]

109. Definitely. Luckily the Budhists are generous and philosophical about it.

But what I saw in the video was not a "toddler dancing", it was a boy who looked at least 4, willfully destroying a piece of art. It did not look anything like a "dance".

It's true that everything and everyone is transient, and on one level, it was an inncoent act by a child, but it was also an opportunity for the mom to teach him something about respecting things that others have worked hard on.

[piesRsquare]

119. Agreed

That was exactly what I saw, too. He looked older than 4 to me, and I didn't see any "dancing".

And I was disgusted at how the mother simply let go of his hand and kept walking...it didn't look like she was even really acknowledging him...just dismissively leaving him there.

Of course a young child is going to mess around with the design. Pretty colors, sand--cool! Any reason why, when mom and kid arrived, mom couldn't take two minutes out of her rush-rushing around and admire the beautiful artwork WITH her son? Keep holding his hand, stop and pause for a moment, and look at the beautiful design! Explain the art form to him. You know how you build things in the sand in your sandbox or on the beach? Some Buddhists draw in the sand--and color it, too. What are some other ways you could make pretty pictures or designs with sand? The people who made this design---this is their sand; we can look at the pretty design, but that's all. That's why the rope things are here...to protect the design.

The parent missed a wonderful opportunity to view a lovely piece of art, have a special moment with her child, and to teach her son a host of valuable, wonderful, and important things. What a shame.

Don't ever forget to stop and smell the roses...even if you're in the post office!

[spacelady]

128. Thank you. I see a woefully unattended child and a missed opportunity

to show the child something beautiful to respect but NOT TOUCH. This is a very basic form of teaching rules of "there is a time and a place to play" and there are those times when you JUST LOOK.

[conscious evolution]

118. I seriously doubt she allowed him

She probably did not even realize what he was up to.
In the video she does not even pause as she passes it.She probably had no idea the thing was made of sand.

[Occulus]

130. I wonder how the monks felt about it

seems sort of symbolic, actually. Child destroys mandala, without knowing that it was to be destroyed anyway.

I wonder if they would have anything deep to say about a paragon of purity and innocence destroying a temporary creation meant to symbolize the impermenance of existence. Come to think about it, there does seem to be a symbolic irony there...

[jollyreaper2112]

117. cakes are meant for eating

A baker would probably be delighted if a child ate his cake and enjoyed it but the child should ask permission first. But holy shit, I must be a grinch for thinking that. Grinch alert! Grinch alert! w000-w0000!

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. She should also be grateful no one grabbed her kid

while she wasn't watching him.

[sam sarrha]

19. who would want him...

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. A pedophile

[Critters2]

67. My thought exactly nt

[Journeyman]

4. But were the monks angry? (continued the story) . . .

No. They simply smiled and started over.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

18. They're monks. What else do they have to do?

"Geshe! Some kid just destroyed our mandala!"

"Ah fer chrissakes. Get hold of Handungamuwe - try his cell - and tell him the Des Moines booking will have to be rescheduled, and everything else down the line. Man, we will never get to Santa Monica in time for July 4. Damn!"

"Geshe! Handungamuwe isn't in his cell!"

"His cell phone, his - by Chandaka's chariot, I am surrounded by idiots, and I don't mean the holy kind. Do I have to enlighten everyone myself? Gimme that phone!"

:D

[juno jones]

You are Funny!

:P

Yeah, the monks probably took it in stride. It's getting harder for them to come here. Seems our gov doesn't care much for Buddhists. Wonder why. Probably has something to do with a major religion that tends toward pacifism and acceptance. If I had to go 'big five' I'd choose buddhism.

[sam sarrha]

47. not a religion.. feel free to check it out, it is a method of developing the mind, not a religion,

here is a theravada site http://www.buddhanet.net check out the Buddhanet Audio section

i practice Tibetan/Galupa, my wife practices a japanese form.. she says the only difference is the Tibetans have more toys..

we have been together for 36 years and have never had cross words or an argument.. check em out, our center was a wonderful nice group of folks.. had study nites and saturday meditation them had lunch together..i moved away and really miss them, cant find any groups in the south.. it really helps to have a group to meditate with... after 4 years of regular personal morning meditation practice and 2 group nites a week and saturdays.. i had a meditative revelation.. Buddhism is actually just an 8 step self help program like A.A only for people addicted to conventional thought.

[juno jones]

78. Subject: Thanks, I know,

I'm just using the typical labeling device that society 'accepts'. Personally I'm a Western Esotericist, and occasional witch. Simply saying, if I had to choose something that society (however grudgingly) accepts as 'valid', and it could only be one of the big five (christianity, judaism, islam, hindu, buddhist) It would be buddism because that is the only one I really have any identification with.

like your screen name, BTW...:)

PS: LOL to your wife! I'm a toys girl myself. My own buddhist experiences have been mostly Zen and Tibetan.

[sam sarrha]

107. well, actually i dont thing western people accept Buddhism as real, rare if they do

[conscious evolution]

126. Few do.

They just cannot comprehend the power unleashed from simple exercises and sitting lotus.It goes against everything they have been taught from a young age.
The only people I know who even come close to understanding,other than other buddhists,are people with a lot of experience with phsycodelic drugs like LSD,DMT and psylocibins.
I studied the Falun Gong for a while.The one banned by the Chineese goverment.I have often felt that if the US goverment understood its potential they would ban it here also.

[Stephanie]

81. You should start the group yourself.

It couldn't hurt to nurture more Buddhists in those Southern states!

[conscious evolution]

124. If you are near Atlanta

there are quite a few bhuddist centers here.
Not many elsewhere that I know of.
There are a few places here and there that are not buhddist oriented but do view them as fellow travelers to be welcomed.

[sam sarrha]

144. winston salem nc

[sam sarrha]

34. reminds me of when T_____ got arrested by INS accompanying the Abbot of the Dalai Lama's Monastery

i loaned him my cell phone.. the INS director at our large city messed up his Visa application, and stoled his Passport... the asshole was appointed to a high management position in HLS, so they set him up to be deported.. didn't want an embarrassment or proof he was incompetent. my friend T_____ was a monk, they threw him in the "Tank" with a slew of criminals, he had them all meditating and chanting in 20 minutes.. he is so wonderful.. the cops liked him so much they recharged his/my phone whenever it went dead, he had to leave and return to Dharamsalla India

[juno jones]

72. dupe

[piesRsquare]

120. Had all the criminals meditating and chanting...

...I love it! How wonderful!

[Journeyman]

35. Thanks for that. . . quite a good laugh. . .

n/t

[IndyOp]

82. They were probably looking forward to a basketball game, but nooooooooo

They had to make a new mandala.

I've never met a Tibetan monk who didn't like a good game of one on one.

:D

(Seriously. No sarcasm.)

[Clark2008]

113. LMAO!!

That's the best post of the night!

[piesRsquare]

123. LOL! You must be Jewish!

Or at least from New York!

Every Passover before seder starts--at least 10 people yakking just like that in the kitchen, dining area, and living room!

Not to mention after Yom Kippur at break-the-fast...a whole synagogue of 'em!

Oy veh es mir! Vhat to do vis all these meshugoyim! :rofl:

[Stephanie]

80. Of course. They were going to sweep it away anyway.

Better to have a sweet little child do the sweeping.

[Journeyman]

86. Thus the purpose of my post. . .

the OP (like the news article) emphasized the destruction without focusing on the ephemeral. Had the Monks felt any possessiveness over their creation, they'd have protected it with more than velvet rope, or used a more permanent media than dust.

[donco6]

8. It was probably some teacher's fault.

:)

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. Why didn't I think of that?

:rofl:

[donco6]

37. Hee hee.

Actually, thinking about it, maybe that's what a mandala is all about. Making a kid dance. And starting over again.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. What would the behavioral objective be?

:rofl:

[donco6]

58. Oh gawd, now I'm depressed. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

62. Oh come on now

Between the 2 of us we can come up with a killer lesson plan. :)

[Skidmore]

9. That child's dance is one of the mysteries of the universe--as

ancient as the days and as endless as time itself. A small human dancing his way innocently through the galaxy and time. What joy and what a delight! Do not chastise the parents. How like us in the West to focus on the work itself and not on its transience. Dance, little one, dance on.

[sam sarrha]

53. i thought he was just being distructive.. kicking down someones sand castles, but i was a Juvenile

Parole officer.. he was just messing up something he could get away with..

[Warren DeMontague]

84. He's a toddler, ferchrissakes.

When you were a juvenile parole officer, were you dealing with two year olds?

[sam sarrha]

106. i learned a lot ... i took the job so i could teach meditation in prisons.. that worked REALLY good,

i also learned about genetic tendencies.. delinquents are just two year olds that never were told no when they threw a tantrum.. locked in a an Apriori circular logical trap..

when kids destroy things that dont belong to them.. there is something wrong with them or the parents.. if it is the parents.. the kid will grow up like them,,,same difference

i suggested once in parole hearing the parents should go to prison and the kid should go on vacation

[uppityperson]

135. So if a delinquent is just a 2 yr old that were never told no when they threw a tantrum....

Does that mean a 2 yr old is emotionally and developmentally equal to a delinquent juvenile?

If a juvie is acting like a 2 yr old having a tantrum, does that mean a 2 yr old is like a juvie?

[Name removed]

145. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[uppityperson]

153. I question your logic and you reply with a personal attack?

wow.

[Warren DeMontague]

137. And when 16 year olds act like 2 year olds, it's a problem.

When 2 year olds act like 2 year olds (or 4 year olds act like 4 year olds) that's not exactly the same thing. Frankly, I think there's also this amped up, rambo law-enforcement attitude that has gone more than a little overboard in our society. When cops are going into kindergarten classes and cuffing six year olds for throwing a tantrum... Sorry, but in my opinion not everything needs to be treated like a massive crime with sirens and squad cars.

How do we end up with the largest per capita rates of incarceration for non-violent offenders in the advanced world- because of bad parenting? Or because we've got this psycho-puritan control mentality that thinks someone smoking a joint is a criminal equivalent to a rapist or murderer?

Sounds to me like the worst part of all this is the fact that the parent left her kid alone in a major public area. (I don't know, because the video link isn't working any more) That's not cool. So you could argue on that fact alone that she is a shitty parent. And being an adult, she should have taken responsibility for what the kid did, assuming she noticed.

But the monks?

“No problem,” Geshe Lobsang Sumdup, leader of the group from the Drepung Gomang Monastery in southern India, said Wednesday through a translator.

THAT'S the kind of lesson people in this country really need. Our weird fetish for control and our delusion that somehow if we bark enough angry marching orders at reality it will obey our commands stems directly, IMHO, from our inability to accept life as an absurd dance where ANY permanence is an illusion.

These monks get it, and for the time being, at least, the kid probably gets it, too.

[sam sarrha]

146. i agree, I'm a Buddhist, i know Tibetan Monks.. as a parole officer my meditation class in prison

turned a lot of the worst kids around miraculously.. and the system put an end to it, it was very threatening to them..

my comment about the kids behavior.. its a product of the parents behavior, a child needs a cup of attention every day, if they get a half cup of positive attention they fill it up with negative attention, it doesn't matter to them it is all the same.. and some kids cups are bigger than others

the kid destroyed other peoples property because he knew it was wrong and would get a rise out of mon

and the kid wasn't 2 as some seem to think. .. he wasnt toddling, he was interacting with his mother

[Matsubara]

110. That kid looks at least 4.

NT

[hedgehog]

152. Little kids are all about process, not results.

They can be very destructive without meaning to be. If you don't believe me, leave a pre-schooler alone with a pair of scissors. Little kids are so fascinated by cutting things, they have no idea that they're slashing away at the drapes/ their little sister's hair/ a coffee table book/ the blankets.......

[Xithras]

11. The monks would have destroyed it anyway

The whole point of mandalas are to demonstrate the temporary and transitory nature of our existence. They spend an incredible amount of time creating these works of immense beauty, and then simply wipe them out when they're finished. It's an artistic way of saying "Enjoy the beauty around you today, because tomorrow it may be gone forever".

Many monks deliberately create mandalas on sidewalks or in parks so that this very thing might happen. They create a thing of beauty, the children get to have some fun with it, and the work is wiped out forever.

I really, seriously doubt the monks cared. They probably enjoyed the real-world demonstration of their entire religious philosophy.

[Cleita]

36. Much of the joy of art is in creating it. I can see why this would

be satisfying even if it's destroyed afterwards. I think we westerners do the same thing with sand sculptures on the beach.

[Tigress DEM]

12. I have been to see one of those in progress.

The idea of it is to create this intricate work of art, enjoy it for awhile and let it go.

Where we were at they combined it with a water ceremony and dumped it into a lake for blessing.

Still, nice of them to recreate it so others could enjoy.

[Catherine Vincent]

17. LOL! That's pretty funny.

Of course if it were my kid, I'd be upset but I wouldn't have let him wander off like that. But the kid was having a lot of fun destroying the sand design. It's like he heard over the speaker "COME AND WALK THROUGH THE SAND!!". The mother just picked the kid up and walked real fast out of there. Also if they didn't want anyone trampling on the sand, they should have barricaded it more than what they did.

[H2O Man]

20. Why weren't

those monks more careful where they put their artwork? At least the toddler wasn't angry.

[laylah]

23. ..

:rofl: Only you, H2O Man, only you :hug:

edited to provide correct context...geeze on me :silly:

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

54. Yeah - imagine the headline! "ANGRY TODDLER MURDERS MANDALA"

MONKS OUTRAGED, VOW REVENGE! TODDLER IN POLICE CUSTODY!

News and Video at Eleven O'clock! Panel discussion to follow...

[nini]

21. In the time he had to do that someone could've grabbed that kid and ran

Seems to me if she has turned around to see where her kid was in that minute she may have noticed and stopped him??? She's either guilty of not watching her child or allowing him to destroy property. Either way she's a crappy mom.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

25. LOL

Call CPS! Call CPS!

:rofl:

[nini]

38. it's really not that funny

though I do admit I almost put a popcorn smiley in there.

I'm from the old school where the kid is standing next to me not behind me where I can't see him at all times when I'm in public.

There's no way in hell I'd let my grandson out of my sight, and if he got behind a roped area like that I'd go get him in a heartbeat and get him out of there.

CPS? nah.. but she's really not that great either.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

40. It's fucking hilarious.

I see the woman isn't carrying a gun.

What if there's a shooting rampage? LOL

[nini]

44. more the reason she should have the kid next to her

so she can cover him when attacked :evilgrin:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

48. Or, use the kid as a club and attack the gunman.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Agreed

Just what I was thinking.

[butterfly77]

22. I was more interested in the fact that..

the mother wasn't even watching him and he was playing all of that time without her noticing that he wasn't with her,he could have been snatched.

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. Yes

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

31. Aren't you worried somebody will snatch your kids...

while you type these messages on DU?

ZOMG!!1! PEDOPHILEZ!!!1!1

[spotbird]

55. Not even snatched

he could have climbed something and fallen, or eaten something toxic. It was a public place, not childproof at all. She should have been more careful and held his hand rather than counting on him to follow, he is too little for that.

[gollygee]

95. That was what I noticed too

Who lets a kid that age wander alone in a busy place like Union Station without watching him?

[Solly Mack]

27. I appreciate this story

and I am smiling

[IChing]

32. It was a blessing no doubt in my mind.

here now

brushed away.

[Critters2]

39. I would think Buddhist monks would simply see this as the child's

dharma, Because, well, it is. These are the things children do, which make them children. And make life interesting.

[Mz Pip]

41. I think I'd pick

a location other than the floor of Union Station to do an intricate anything. Seems like an odd location to do anything that can't be cemented in, glued shut or nailed down.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[rucky]

42. Send that kid to the White House! n/t

[BlooInBloo]

46. Well obviously the conclusion to be drawn is that it's NOT the parents' fault...

... and you guys are just a bunch of haters.

:)

[Bucky]

49. This is why artists from civilized countries put their paintings on easels!

Put a painting on the floor... at Union Station, no less. What the hell do you expect, Brother Dumbass?

Of course the child should be punished severely.

</Republican mode>

[IChing]

52. "civilized countries" and you call them Uncivilized?

thanks for your ethnocentrism, world wars, genocide and arrogance.

[Madspirit]

59. Didn't You Notice

...the html...</Republican Mode> Republican Mode stopped, at the end. I think they were being facetious.
Lee

[Bucky]

75. You're welcome

But I really can't take the credit for the arrogance part.

[BlooInBloo]

88. lol! ZING! Too bad people don't read, eh?

[IChing]

57. OK everybody "learn to make a sand painting on an easel without it sliding off

You heard it here first.



:) :evilgrin: :rofl: :rofl:

[Bucky]

73. It would certainly make them more civilized. In case you're unaware of great AMERICAN art forms....

In the civilized world, we make great sand paintings that can't be ruined by children



Some are even religiously themed (bottle masterpeice in center). If those heathens could only learn our enlightened ways, they could, you know, get a gig that's not in a damned train station once in a while.

[IChing]

83. I need a sarcasm tag after yesterday and today..just a little snarky

I got your humor later, would have caught it early on a normal day
It just wasn't so "easel" today.

[Occulus]

136. .

:rofl:

I've been quietly giggling throughout this whole thread, but that one made me laugh out loud....

[SmokingJacket]

51. What could be better!

The whole point is the ephemeral nature of such a work.

Still, I'd freak if it was my kid. No dessert for you!

[Crunchy Frog]

60. I think there's something very Buddhist about that. n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

63. Yeah, but if anyone ought to be equipped to laugh something like that off, it's buddhist monks.

I mean, you don't make intricate artworks out of sand in the first place if you don't understand the fundamental impermanence of everything.

[Horse with no Name]

64. Good thing it wasn't a Republican making a sand painting

The kid would have been shot dead.

[Bucky]

77. When Republicans make sand paintings, it's overseas. And they only use red.

Lots and lots of red. Plus some mixed media sculptures to set off all that painted sand.

[Lisa]

91. well, the nearest children would have been barricaded, miles away ...

... in the nearest "free dance zone".

[leftofthedial]

65. Gawdjeezis hates idolators

and sent His angelic, innocent little cherub down to drive those heathens and their wicked works of Satan out of His chosen country's heartland.

Puh-raize be to Gawdjeezis!

[AlCzervik]

66. Somewhere there are Monks that aren't angry. I don't blame the toddler, how would he know?

Mom and Dad--pay attention to your child please, you aren't watching and anyone could grab him.

[Maddy McCall]

69. What a SHITTY excuse of a parent. Toddler left alone IN UNION STATION for 1:10.

As bad as it is that the mandela was destroyed, it's not the toddler's fault.

The thing that pisses me off is that a toddler was left alone for one minute and ten seconds, in Union Station, while his mother was in ANOTHER ROOM.

I detest parents who leave their small children in cars at grocery stores or the mall, and this woman is of the same ilk. She never had her eye on him. She LEFT HIM ALONE in Union Station while she went to another part of the Station to the Post Office. A TODDLER. You can see that she was in another room in Union Station, because you can see her open the door to exit that room to walk back toward the area where the mandela is/was.

God help that child make it to an age where he can take care of himself.

:grr: :grr: :grr:

[proud2BlibKansan]

133. Yes this is the issue here

I also think it was wrong for the mother to allow her kid to destroy this piece of art but that is not as bad as letting him wander away and not watching him.

I live in this city and I can assure you I wouldn't take my eyes off of a toddler in Union Station. That is REALLY stupid.

[lse7581011]

70. Mother Should Be Prosecuted

to the fullest extent of the law!

[Forkboy]

71. Complete and total poetic justice.

And I bet the monks agree 100%.

[Terri S]

76. Buddhist sand paintings are always destroyed shortly after they are completed.

They are seen as a metaphor for the impermanence of life.

That's why...

"But were the monks angry?
No. They simply smiled and started over."

[MistressOverdone]

79. Somehow I think the monks understood

the pieces are meant to be very short-lived anyway.

There is a lesson in here somewhere, with painstaking work destroyed in a second by a baby. But I'm not sure if it is highminded, like the futility of perfection..the energy of youth..

or just about life with a baby. They'll do that.

[omega minimo]

89. Oh-- I thought this was a Dubya thread

:yoiks:

[aikoaiko]

94. Well, they are made to be destroyed...such is life.

[JVS]

99. Why are these monks not armed with tasers or guns?

[entanglement]

105. Great story

:)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

114. What the hell were those monks thinking?

Luring toddlers to commit vandalism, that's what they were doing. The way they left that colored sand there on the floor was an invitation to that poor child that he couldn't ignore. All the while those monks were preying on the innocence of that child. You know they were thrilled with the chance to show their monkish superiority by smiling and saying, "no problem." Heh, more like mission accomplished, one more child on their way to a life a crime!

[Blue_Tires]

121. the monks are gonna start whippin ass

First Noble Truth: Life is suffering....So the monks will now impart a little 'truth' the hard way on the kid and absentminded ma!:evilgrin: :silly: :crazy: :scared: :nuke:

lol

[Truthiness Inspector]

140. What kid hasn't wrecked something? n/t

[Jamastiene]

142. Thus proving that nothing is permanent

Smart kid.

[Judi Lynn]

143. Couldn't get the video to work for me, found a different one from KMBC-TV:

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/13378557/detail.html

The image of a child blissfully dancing on a sand painting just didn't come through in this video. The monks didn't seem compelled to rejoice, either.

Respect for others is a very hard lesson for some people to learn, and they often don't get it throughout their entire lives, ending up crabby, snarling, pushy, grabby, greedy, old rude Republicans!

[intheflow]

155. Nothing says "impermanence" like a toddler!

On the other hand, the video was disturbing because it seemed to be a loooong time for the kid to be unchecked in a roped off, public area. WTF was the mother doing? Where is that video?

[Ganja Ninja]

157. These things aren't meant to be saved anyway.

I remember seeing a film on Tibetan monks making sand paintings and after so many days they sweep them away.