Welcome to the Tibetan Children's Education Foundation

2010 Summer Sand Mandala Tour

Tibetan Buddhist monk the Venerable Ngawang Chojor ,a senior monk from Namgyal Monastery(home of the Dalai Lama) will create sacred sand mandalas of compassion, peace and healing. Tibetans have long believed that to witness the creation of a mandala is to cultivate these enduring qualities within each of us, and so to witness the creation of a mandala is to lay the foundation for a strong and balanced human community.
If you are interested in having a Sand Mandala creatd in your community please contact us at 406 443 6078

SAND MANDALA CREATION and THANKGA EXHIBITION SUMMER SCHEDULE:

BUTTE, MONTANA
July 9, 10 &11 National Folk Festival, Butte , Montana

HELEN, MONTANA
July 15, 16 &17 Feathered Pipe Ranch , Helena ,Montana contact ; 406 443 6078

JACKSON, WYOMING
July 22, 23 & 24
St Johns Episcopal Church
107 N GLENWOOD STREET, JACKSON, WY. contact 307 732-9841
Construction Daily 10am-5pm
July 23 7PM delicious INDO -TIBETAN DINNER- $20 donation suggested please RSVP
July 24 5pm Dissolution of Mandala

MISSOULA, MONTANA
July 29, 30 & 31
ZOOTOWN ARTS COMMUNITY CENTER
235 N 1st St W, MISSOULA, MONTANA contact 406 549 7555
Construction daily 1pm-8 pm
July 31 6-8pm ARTIST RECEPTION meet and greet Ven Ngawang Chojor, short presentation of TCEF’s work
July 31 7pm Dissolution of Mandala

GREAT FALLS, MONTANA
August 6, 7,& 8
LEWIS AND CLARK INTERPRETIVE CENTER
4201 Giant Springs Road, GREAT FALLS, MONTANA contact 406 452 5661
Construction daily 10am - 5pm
August 8 4pm Dissolution of Mandala

BOZEMAN, MONTANA
August 13, 14 & 15

PILGRIM CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
2118 South 3rd Ave, BOZEMAN, MONTANA contact 406 595 6189
Construction daily 10am-5pm
August 14 7PM delicious INDO-TIBETAN DINNER $20 donation suggested please RSVP
August 15 3pm Dissolution of Mandala

Venerable Ngawang Chojor is a Tibetan Buddhist monk living in Madison
Wisconsin. He is a senior monk of Namgyal Monastery, the personal
monastery of the Dalai Lama. There, he trained in all the traditional arts
and became a lead teacher in ceremonial arts for apprentice monks.
Venerable Chojor was thirteen when he became a Buddhist monk. He entered the Namgyal Monastery in Lhasa, the personal monastery of the Dalai Lama, the political and religious leader of Tibet. Ten years after he started his studies, Ven. Chojor constructed a complete set of colored sand mandalas for the monastery , demonstrating he had completed his training.

Today, Ven. Chojor is well known for constructing sand mandalas and has
constructed them in many places around the world. In 1994, he
worked with other monks to make a mandala in the World Trade Center
in New York City. He has traveled to Switzerland, Mexico, Japan, China,
and many places in the United States. Tibetan Children’s Education
Foundation is truly honored to have Venerable Chojor on this Sacred Art
Tour.

GENERAL INFO ON SAND MANDALAS:
Sand Mandalas are unique to Tibetan and Native American culture, they are believed to affect purification and healing. They are created by hand and embody traditional meditative designs that represent the universal qualities of harmony, balance, community and pure wisdom.

The construction begins with an opening ceremony. The Tibetan monks bless the area so they have permission to inhabit the space before beginning the construction of the mandala. The construction process then begins and the monks work everyday until completion.

The monks begin by drawing an outline of the mandala on the wooden platform,. Next is the laying of the colored sands, which is effected by pouring the sand from traditional metal funnels called chak-pur. Each monk holds a chak-pur in one hand, while running a metal rod on its grated surface; the vibration causes the sand to fall like liquid.

There are many types of mandalas, in general all mandalas have outer, inner and secret meanings. On the outer level they represent the world in its divine form; on the inner level they represent a map by which the ordinary human mind is transformed into enlightened mind; and on the secret level they depict the primordially perfect balance of the subtle energies of the body and the clear light dimension of the mind. The creation of a sand painting is said to effect a purification and healing on these three levels.

For centuries, Tibetan mandalas were seen exclusively by the monks and nuns of Buddhist monasteries. In 1988, however, the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, decreed that a mandalas be constructed for the public to witness.

Tibetans have long believed that to witness the creation of a mandala is to cultivate these enduring qualities within each of us, and so to witness the creation of a mandala is to lay the foundation for a strong and balanced human community.

Traditionally most sand mandalas are destroyed shortly after their completion. This is done as a metaphor of the impermanence of life. The sands are swept up and placed in an urn; to fulfill the function of healing, half is distributed to the audience at the closing ceremony, while the remainder is carried to a nearby body of water, or to the earth where it is deposited. The sand then carries the healing blessing through the earth and spreads throughout the world for planetary healing.

This exhibition is presented by the Tibetan Children’s Education Foundation’s Cultural Awareness program.