Sand Painting

Colored sand seeps in
Sanding me through open mind
Mandela gazing
–LE

Back in the late ‘90s, we went to the Cleveland Museum of Art to see a demonstration of Tibetan Sand Painting.

Buddhist monks sat on the floor of the gallery making intricate mandalas on the floor before them with colored sand, placing each color individually, painstakingly. Each monk worked on a specific portion of the ‘Painting’. We didn’t get to see anything finished, as they took so long to render. What we did see was breathtakingly beautiful.

According to a newspaper article I read later, the monks, when finished with a sand painting, would meditate over it for a while, then clear it away, just mixing all the colors together, sweeping it up and taking the sand away with them.

To be Continued…

–LE