Sorry to have been gone so long, gang, there has been a lot
going on. As some of you know, our area of
South
Carolina suffered devastating flooding over the
course of about two weeks and it will be years before a full recovery is
final. A number of our friends were badly affected by the flooding and we
have been trying to offer assistance to our community where we could. The
way the people of South Carolina
have handled this catastrophe has been truly remarkable and I am extremely
proud of our state.
Unfortunately,
across our state, our country and the world we have seen an increase in acts of
senseless, brutal violence. Some has been related to simple
crime, some
to poverty, some to persecution, some to political objectives and some to
religious ideas. Whatever the reason, in my opinion there is absolutely
no justification for outright savagery and those who engage in such activity
are unquestionably wrong no matter what explanations might be given.
Those of us who are saddened and outraged by the profoundly sub-human behavior
we have seen
have offered up our prayers for a saner, safer world. I
believe that prayers work and I do not think that they necessarily have to be
of a certain content or theological orientation. When humankind joins in
solidarity in their hopes and desires, an undeniable force can be felt.
It was with that belief in mind that we recently visited a group of people
attempting to bring about healing in a unique way. Buddhist Monks from the Loseling
Institute, a monastic site housing 2,500 monks in Atlanta,
Georgia, were in Columbia this week to
pray for healing and to construct an incredible "Healing
Mandala". For those who are not familiar
with mandalas,
they are symbols that take varying forms and are used in awide range of
philosophies and religions. Historically, the term arose from Sanskrit,
(the ancient language used in Hindu and later integrated into Buddhism) and is
a symbol generally considered to represent the universe. Use of mandalas
for meditation, prayer, self-discipline and countless other practices have
spread across the
world and have been incorporated into virtually every
religion and into an extensive range of psychological evaluation
techniques. Like so many things, we tend to "over-complicate" in
our modern societies and it is refreshing to see the approach taken by the
simple but profoundly inspiring monks. As Buddhism
evolved and extended far beyond the borders of India, so, too, did the
mandala. In the
mid-seventh century Buddhism came to Tibet following
the conversion of the Emperor and over the next seven centuries enormous forces
shaped the development of Buddhist practices - including the development
of the "sand mandala". The center of Tibetan Buddhism, the
Dreprung Monastery with it's Loseling
department in Lhasa at one point housed as many as 15,000
monks.
Following the overthrow of the
Tibetan government by China,
the order moved to India and
the Loseling Institute was formed in the United States. I won't spend
a lot of time here trying to explain all of the esoteric aspects of oriental
philosophy - or how the mandala is used in meditation or
"centering" but let me quickly add that the idea behind the creation
of an incredibly beautiful but exquisitely ephemeral work of art
that
serves as both an inspiration for positive thought and a reminder of the impermanent
nature of all things is astonishingly powerful. This mandala was
created at "Gallery 80808" in Columbia
and was made possible by the wonderful artist Heidi Darr-Hope. Heidi does
amazing work with cancer survivors in South
Carolina and throughout the country
and is a truly
inspiring artist. The mandala we saw created before our eyes was
a "Healing Mandala" - one of a number of designs used by the
monks. In creating one of these remarkable works
of art, the monks lay out the design using simple
architectural drawing tools and white crayon pencils but the overall design is
constructed from memory. With fine grains of colored sand and other
organic materials, an unbelievably beautiful work of art evolves over the
course of several days. At each step of the development process, prayers,
chants and exhortations are used to firmly
establish the sacred nature of
this effort. During the composition the monks constantly pray for those
among whom they are working and there is a palpable sense of holiness in
the area around them. At the completion of the mandala a beautiful, elaborate
ceremony is held in which the forces of the universe are invoked to assist
in bringing comfort to the world. (It is of great interest to note that
following the
terrorist attacks on the world trade center in 2001, the Dali
Lama ordered the creation of a "Healing Mandala" to bring about
healing in a
world in the throes of sorrow and anguish.) The
ceremony begins with a
series of astonishing chants that seem altogether
"other-worldly". I took some videos of the ceremonies
and hope
to be able to refine them so I can add them here. If I can, you will hear
some of most incredible sounds that can be made by a human voice.
Although there were only two monks participating in these ceremonies, I could
swear that I heard a "third" voice. Very mysterious! At
the end of the chants the mandala is swept into a single pile and portions of
the sand are
distributed to those attending the ceremony. We were
fortunate to be able to get a small container-full for our son and for another
friend. The remaining sand is taken to a nearby body of water for a final
ceremony. On this occasion, we made the short trip to the Congaree River which is not far from the gallery
and which has returned to it's more gentle levels after being nearly fifteen
feet above flood stage only a few weeks ago. After another series of
prayers and chants, a bottle of milk is poured into the water -
symbolizing the
nurturing power of the earth and the universe. Flowers
are cast into the water to represent the transient beauty we experience in
nature. Finally, the remaining sand is slowly poured into the flowing
water to represent the return to nature of our efforts. The monks who
brought this beautiful creation and their wonderful spirits to Columbia spoke no English but were quite
comfortable among the exceptionally diverse group of people who came to see
them work. They were very considerate of everyone but, especially
attentive to the young children. They did not hesitate to make themselves
available to the kids (and grown-ups) for "photo ops" and many took
advantage of the opportunity. I was glad to be able to get a photo of Linda
with one of the monks - although she will probably fuss at me for the candid
shot. This was an incredible experience for a number of reasons. It
was really heartwarming to see so many people interested in the work of these
talented and humble people and for them to come together to appreciate and
honor these gentle souls. The artwork was truly amazing and if you ever
have the opportunity to see a mandala being created I hope you will take
advantage of it. You will not be sorry. Finally, their message was
inspiring and reaffirming. While the impermanence of life, art and nature
was underscored we were reminded of the redemptive power by which we are
surrounded. I'll get the video added soon but I don't want to delay
putting the post out. See ya.
there can be absolutely no question that actions such as those committed Friday evening are anathema to every fiber of nature and could not be sanctioned by any legitimate diety.
