The Art of Compassion: Sand Mandalas.

Oftentimes, art is pretty, or art is cool, or art is weird, or it’s offensive. Sometimes, its very means and end, both, are clear: the practice of compassion. Sounds good to me. And, looks pretty good, too:

The Making of a Mandala from UVMVermont.

“On Oct. 15 two Tibetan Buddhist monks began the meticulous work of creating a sand mandala – an intricate, geometric design representing a Buddha’s palace – in the Fleming Museum’s Marble Court. For one week, Lobsang Tashi and Tenzin Thutop created the image, dedicated to Chenrezig, the Buddhist embodiment of compassion, by directing each grain of sand into place with handcrafted tools, as museum visitors looked on. When the piece was finished, the monks dismantled the work in a ceremony designed to convey their simple message: our existence here is brief and compassion for each other is imperative.”