ADDED: The scene 2 days ago:
September 16, 2016
The mandala continues apace.
When last we saw the Tibetan monks in the University of Wisconsin Sunset Lounge, they were at the stage that caused the enlightened Meade to exclaim "Parcheesi!" That was 2 days ago. Today, in hot pursuit of my Union Utopia ice cream, I encountered a locked door to my favorite campus lounge, and darned if the monks weren't still there scritchy-scratching the colored sand onto the black table:
ADDED: The scene 2 days ago:
ADDED: The scene 2 days ago:
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20 comments:
It must be to them sort of like working crossword puzzles is to us.
Let's hope the NYT doesn't start one.
Is the sand loose? Or are they working on a sticky surface?
I think it's loose, but not louche.
It will be swept away very soon. That is the ritual.
All hail ephemeral. It's what we all are.
Some lovely clips of the process of sweeping it away from Scorcese's "Kundun."
Spending that much time to make such a pretty thing and then sweeping it away (before photography) strikes me as a waste. Then, we are all so much dust in the wind, as it were.
I want the Puffa Puffa Rice hat in the second photo.
It's destroyed later today I believe.
Monks got a lot of time on their hands.
What does the Orchard god get out of this? Maybe a good laugh.
Well, hello, Dalai! It's so nice to have you back in Madison.
What ever happened to Garage Mahal?
My back hurts looking at them hunched over.
Rusty got a lot of time on his head.
Soldep Kunga live monk action and music.
I must dissent from the usual "oh how wonderful" claptrap. In the usual course of things the only people who get to enjoy the mandala are monks. This is little different from medieval monks saying mass several times a day, whilst living off the peasantry they cow into obeisance with their mystical mambo-jumbo. Their Western admirers have been co-opted into this shameful scam. Look beyond the PR.
@David: "All hail ephemeral. It's what we all are." The implicit non sequitur is one thing I dislike about Buddhism: we all are ephemeral, therefore we must hail it. If it's still PC to dislike Buddhism. If it isn't, I never said it. But please, please do not send me to meditation reeducation camp.
Blogger Howard said...
Rusty got a lot of time on his head.
I wish! C'mon. Even you can see the absurdity of it.
"We're gonna paint with sand."
"What? Paint with sand?
"Yep. Dry sand."
"That's a pretty meager pallet."
"No we're gonna color the sand"
"Oh. Paint, like, landscapes and portraits and shit?"
"No. Really intricate and tedious geometrical shapes."
" For what reason are we gonna paint with sand?"
"To fuck with the new guys. In case you haven't noticed being a monk is boring as hell."
Next weeks ritual foot-washing by the Christian Student Center has been canceled.
This is an exercise in moving meditation. The monks are using the mandala to focus the rational, reasoning, obtrusive mind on a minute detail which allows the true mind to reveal itself. It is destroyed because its purpose is over when it is finished. Retaining it gives it meaning and importance
when in reality it is just sand - like sand on the beach or in your shoe.
Be funny as hell if one of them were to sneeze unexpectedly.
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