Laguna Beach community takes in spiritual teachings around sand mandala
Those who dropped by saw the delicate and detailed creation of a sand mandala, a Tibetan Buddhist tradition, carried out by monks from the Namgyal Monastery in Dharamshala.
Dozens then showed up to witness the sand mandala dissolution, a ceremony during which the monks destroy that which they have created in a representation of the impermanence of life.
Tenzin Wangdu Thokme, one of the monks that contributed to the sand mandala, gave a brief overview of the meaning and symbolism behind the ritual.
Attention was given to an altar overlooking the sand mandala, which included a thangka painting of the founder of Buddhism. There was also an image of the Buddha of Compassion, as well as a picture of the 14th Dalai Lama, who turned 90 on July 6.
'The mandala, in essence, is a purified version of the environment and being in it — so the purification version of it,' Thokme said. 'In Buddhism, we believe that every sentient being can become awakened, or reach a state of awareness. Therefore, one can reach the state of awareness through practicing and through purifying oneself and through kind of training and overcoming all the delusions and ignorance and so forth.'
The monks engaged in chanting prior to taking apart their sand mandala, pocketing portions of the colored sand into tiny sacks to be distributed among the attendees. The primary colors used within the mandala were white, green, blue, yellow and black, which Thokme said included directional representations and ties to body energy.
A procession then moved from the church across South Coast Highway to Cleo Street Beach. Some followed the monks down the beach access stairs, while others chose to view the remainder of the ritual from above.
'We believe that sand is very blessed because during the visualization and the prayers, we have invited the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in our visualization, that they resided in this mandala and came and blessed … with their presence,' Thokme said. 'Therefore, this is blessed sand, and then we offer that to the ocean.
'Basically, what we believe, these elements like water, fire, wind, earth and so forth, it has its own spirit,' Thokme said.
'Therefore, taking this blessed sand to the water is to offer them, and it is requesting them to bring us a blessed environment,' he added. 'The environmental blessings have to come from nature, so we are offering this back to nature, so that we request them to bring the prosperity, goodness to the whole world and to humanity. That's the symbolism that we perform, and we do this in a prayer ceremony.'
A monk was seen wading out into the shallows before dispersing the sand back among the waves.
Rodrick Echols, the pastor of the Neighborhood Congregational Church, was on sabbatical. Sue Cross, board chair for the church, received and thanked the monks.
'We want to thank all of you for coming all this way from the Namgyal Monastery to honor us and bless us with your presence,' Cross said. 'We want to thank you for creating this beautiful, amazingly beautiful mandala. We want to thank you for your work in promoting peace, compassion and understanding. We hope that your travels will bring you back here again and that you will always think of this as a welcoming home.'
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