A THOUGHTFUL
SILENCE Bringing the Community Together in Contemplation
As Lama Wongdue gently tapped the funnel, red sand trickled onto the pencil-marked design outlined on the plywood base. Members of the City and Country community stood silently, contemplatively, in the Library as he finished yet another small element in the meditative work that had brought him to our School. Over the course of six days, Lama Wongdue, a monk from the International Buddhist Academy in Kathmandu, Nepal, would create an intricate and highly symbolic geometric design composed of colored sand—the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of sand mandala. Lhakpa Gurung, niece of Lama Wongdue and IVsL Associate Teacher, thought that C&C would be the perfect site for one of her uncle’s mandalas, and she helped arrange his visit to the School. “The sand mandala is an important reminder for us that it’s the process that’s important,” said Lhakpa. “It’s a way of meditating. But
there are also connections to art, math, social studies, diversity, and religion in the mandala. I thought it might be beneficial for our school to experience.” Lama Wongdue learned how to create sand mandalas as part of his Buddhist studies in India in his 20s. Since then, he has created 10 sand mandalas, some in monasteries for religious purposes, but also in public spaces in Switzerland and the United States for the purposes of education and world peace. Each mandala is rich with religious symbolism, depicting the house of a deity. “Since C&C was a school setting,” said Lhakpa, “my uncle chose to create a Manjushree Mandala here, symbolizing the ‘goddess of wisdom.’” The colorful sand represents different directions, gems, and elements. “For instance, there are nine different colors of fire,” said Lhakpa. The structure of the house he created radiated outward in beautiful patterns.
DAY 1
DAY 3 18
C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS
