Sand mandala blows spectators away

TALLINN - Tibetan monks will be composing stunning sand mandalas in the three Baltic capitals next week to coincide with the visit to the region of the Dalai Lama. When they finish, the mandalas will be destroyed in what for most spectators will be a painful expression of the endless cycle of birth and death, creation and destruction.

The Tallinn event is taking place inside a tent in the Old Town. The tent's opening on June 11 was very businesslike. After a quick prayer, the monks grabbed their plain-looking tools and got to work.

After about 45 minutes they took a break to let representatives of the Estonian Oriental Society present copies of the Estonian language translation of the Dalai Lama's third book, "Ancient Wisdom, Modern World - Ethics for a New Millennium," to anybody who happened to be in the crowd.

Visitors can walk around the mandala table, take photos and even capture the process on video. But the organizers of the event are making sure the curious crowd keeps its distance from the monks at work - about a meter.

According to the organizers, the sand mandala is a symbol of our transient world. After it is created, the monks simply wipe it away.

The mandala is being created on a special wood panel with a sketch of the finished version for reference nearby. Plastic glasses contain the basic materials, namely colored and sanctified sand from Tibet.

Some of the sand is put into an iron tube and the monks carefully deposit it onto the wooden surface by striking the tube with a tiny iron stick. The sound is magnificent and pristine, bewitching. Little wooden trowels are used to correct any mistakes.

The mandala is a perfect circular structure with a small green circle in the center.

The exact time for sweeping away the finished mandala is not yet set, but it should be worth hanging around the tent on June 16 to catch it on tape.