Tibetan Buddhist monks focus on sand — and sea

Southwest Florida residents have the chance to see something few westerners ever get the opportunity to see — the creation and blessing of a sand mandala by a group of Buddhist monks.

Throughout the week, the group of five Tibetan monks will be at Unity of Naples building the Chenrezig mandala one grain of colored sand at a time.

Once complete, the sand painting will be blessed and ritually dissolved to symbolize the impermanence of life.

"This is the first time I've seen this being done live," said Susanna Tocco, 36, of Naples. "It's amazing — the precision, the patience. It's so beautiful to watch."

Standing just a few feet away from where the monks are hunched over a large table a meticulously placing the grains of sand in a geometric shape, Tocco spoke softly making sure she didn't disturb their painstaking effort.

"I'm going to all the events," she said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

To place the sand in the pattern, the monks fill a copper tube with sand. They then force the sand out of the tube's point by rubbing another copper tube against a series of ridges along the tube filled with the sand.

"What they're doing is building a temple to a deity," said the Rev. Richard Rogers, who estimates more than 150 people have come out to see the monks work. "When you see this, you understand that there are many paths to God — and that's part of our journey here at this church — to recognize all the paths to God. When they pray and when they chant, you can feel it."

Construction of sand mandalas has been part of the Buddhist tradition since the 6th century and are often used in meditation and initiation rituals. In Tibetan Buddhism, a mandala is an imaginary palace that is contemplated during meditation where each object in the palace has significance.

While there are many different mandalas — each with different lessons and blessings — the one being created in Naples symbolizes compassion as a central focus of the spiritual experience, the enlightened mind and ideal world.

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"This one is going to take about five days," said Jangchub Chophel, one of the monks from the Gaden Shartse Monastery participating in the 18-month tour of the United States. The purpose of the tour is to raise money for the monastery and help keep alive the Tibetan culture.

"It's great that this is the last stop on our tour because one of our goals is to bless the Gulf of Mexico," he said.

Once the mandala is completed Saturday, the sand will be swept up at 11 a.m. and given to people as a blessing, he said. The rest of the sand will then be poured into the Gulf of Mexico at 1 p.m. as a way to heal the Gulf in the wake of the BP oil disaster.

Shortly after beginning their second day on the mandala, a handful of Naples residents came to observe.

Instead of letting religion divide humanity, all people could learn more about one another by accepting those with beliefs that may be hard to grasp, said Lira Bennett of Naples.

"This, right here, can teach us great lessons about patience, focus, stillness and that inner journey," she said.

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