TIBETAN BUDDHIST SAND MANDALA
SEPTEMBER 9 – 13, 2024
The Venerable Lama Losang Samten visits Villanova University Sept. 9 – 13, 2024 to create a Tibetan sand mandala. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences presents the weeklong event in partnership with the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, which will host the installation in the Driscoll Hall Atrium.
The opening ceremony is set for Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, at 4 p.m. On Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, at 10:30 a.m., the Ven. Samten will supervise the ceremonial destruction of the mandala.
A mandala in Tibetan Buddhism is a tool for meditation and contemplation. Every aspect of the mandala has meaning, and nothing is arbitrary or superfluous. It might be drawn with colored sand or paint, built in a three-dimensional model, or visualized by a Buddhist practitioner. The intricate designs and symbols of the mandala represent elements of the universe and aspects of enlightenment. Meditating on a mandala, the practitioner can cultivate different spiritual goals of the Buddhist tradition, like wisdom, compassion, well-being and peace.
At Villanova, the Ven. Samten will create a Medicine Buddha mandala, a sacred design that represents the healing power of wisdom and compassion. The Medicine Buddha is believed to have the power to heal physical, mental and emotional illnesses, as well as to promote spiritual well-being. The Medicine Buddha mandala is used in meditation and in rituals to connect with this healing power to alleviate suffering. The mandala is depicted in vibrant colors and has intricate designs that reflect the complexity of the universe and the interdependence of all life.
About the Artist
The Venerable Losang Samten, a renowned Tibetan scholar and a former Buddhist monk, was born in Chung Ribuce, in central Tibet. In 1959, he and his family fled to Nepal and later moved to Dharamsala, India. In 1985, he earned the highest degree awarded by Namgyal Monastery, the monastery of the 14th Dalai Lama, in Buddhist Philosophy, Sutra and Tantra. In 1994, Samten received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Art from the Maine College of Art in 1995. He taught Tibetan Language at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from 1994–1997. His work was recognized with a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2002, and in 2004, he was awarded a Pew Fellowship in the Arts.
SPONSORS
In addition to the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Nursing, the event is sponsored by the Office of Mission and Ministry, the Augustinian Institute, the Augustine and Culture Seminar and Departments of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, Global Interdisciplinary Studies: Asian Studies Program, History and the Art History Program.
Julie Klein, PhD, chair of the Philosophy Department; Davey Tomlinson, PhD, Philosophy; and Stephanie Wong, PhD, Theology and Religious Studies; are the organizing committee.