The University of Notre Dame’s Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care in Medicine, the College of Science and the Harper Cancer Research Institute will host Arjia Rinpoche, director of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, Ind., and seven Tibetan Buddhist monks from Labrang Tashi Kyil Monastery in Dehra Dun, India, for the construction of a peace sand mandala and a presentation on compassion from Nov. 18-21 (Monday-Thursday).
The closing ceremony for the sand mandala construction will be held in the Jordan Hall of Science Reading Room, which will include sweeping up the colored sands to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists. A portion of the sand will be given to the guests and the remainder carried in a procession by the monks to a flowing body of water, where it will be ceremonially poured to disperse the healing energies of the mandala throughout the world.
The monks will be constructing the mandala from Monday (Nov 18). through Thursday (Nov. 21) from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day in the Reading room. The campus community and public are welcome to visit and watch the progress of the sand mandala throughout the four days. The construction process will also be streamed live on the College of Science website.
These events are co-sponsored by the Department of Art, Art History and Design, the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Studies, the Office of Information Technologies and the Snite Museum of Art.