Sand harmony: the process of creating a mandala from colored sand.
A Chinese woman creates a sand mandala from scratch. A mesmerizing sight.
The mesmerizing process of creating a sand mandala from scratch by a Chinese artist.
This is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition that involves the creation and destruction of mandalas from colored sand. The ritual reflects the central idea of Buddhism: everything in the world is impermanent, nothing lasts forever. The incredibly complex design is created over hours, sometimes even days, and then destroyed with a single stroke of the brush.
After destruction, the sand is sprayed into water—a river, lake, or sea. It is believed that the mandala absorbs the creators' intentions, prayers, and good wishes during its creation, and the water symbolically carries these positive energies away.
