Friday, February 18, 2011

2011 49/365 Impermanence

Impermanence
Tibetan Monks at Westover School
Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
The girls and I had the honor of visiting the Westover School yesterday 
to see Tibetan Monks creating a sand mandala.
Tibetan Monks at Westover School
The monks, from the Drepung Gomang monastery in India,  
have been working on this mandala for 4 days.  
The sound was beautiful!
Tibetan Monks at Westover School
Friday, at a closing ceremony, they will sweep up the sands and deposit them in a nearby river so they flow into the world.
Tibetan Monks at Westover School
The making and destroying of sand mandalas is a way of practicing the Buddhist doctrine of the transitory nature of material things, impermanence.
Tibetan Monks at Westover School
It was humbling to interact with the monks.
Tibetan Monks at Westover School
We were even able to have our prayer flags blessed.
It was also very cool to just be inside the Westover School.  
Tibetan Monks at Westover School

The girls were very impressed with the dining hall!
Emma had to snap a photo.
This trip is one we'll remember for a long, long time!