Residents of Simon’s Town and surrounds can attend the construction of sand mandalas at the Simon’s Town Museum from Wednesday 26 to Saturday 29 September.
Four Tibetan monks are in South Africa to promote peace in South Africa. They are accompanied by a doctor trained in the ancient Tibetan healing system, as well as an astrological professional on a cultural tour to promote wellbeing.
Afterwards they will be heading to Johannesburg and Durban until Sunday 21 October.
A sand mandala is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation of a spiritual symbol representing a cosmic universe of celestial bodies made from coloured sand.
Usually four monks work side by side to create this two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional ideal universe.
This painstakingly time-consuming procedure is a very rare sight to see and the monks will construct the sand mandala design of Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion, to generate strong compassionate and peaceful energy.
To symbolise the transitory nature of life, the sand mandala is ritualistically destroyed once it has been completed. The Office of Tibet South Africa and the Tibet Society SA have arranged for this group of Tibetan masters to be in Johannesburg at the Wits Origins Centre from Sunday 2 to Friday 7 October and in Durban at the Denis Hurley Centre from Monday 15 to Sunday 21 October.