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[felicula]

This weekend, mechanchaos and I disappeared to Buffalo to attend a number of events associated with the Dalai Lama's visit to the University of Buffalo. We did not get to as many exhibits and workshops as I had hoped, but I think we spent the time wisely. I think my visit will have to be broken up into a number of posts just to get it all down.

After arriving in Buffalo late Friday night, I woke mechanchaos up at the butt-crack of morning to get on campus and get in line for the free, but highly limited in number tickets to the Mandala Consecration ceremony performed by lamas from the Drepung Loseling Monastery. We were the first in line by at least a half an hour. Our feet hated us, but it was very worth it. We were within touching distance of the dancers during the Dance of the Black Hat Masters, and about twelve feet away from the lamas chanting and playing instruments. The gallery space was beautiful and intimate. I was not prepared for the sheer amount of noise when the horns and drums started up! It was like a marriage of Gregorian chant and Chinese opera, but with the uniqueness of the multiphonic chanting that Tibetan monks are renouned for.

When the chanting and dancing was done, the lamas shifted from a solemn formality to a flurry of activity at the mandala table. Working on laying out the Chenrezig, or Avalokitesvara, mandala, they snapped chalk lines, wielded compasses of varying sizes from small to huge, and marked neat, precise lines with rulers and white pencils. In awe, we watched as the table was divided again and again into arcs and lines, temple and gates. The architecture of the mandala was detailed, yet surprisingly sparse considering the images soon to be laid in with sand.

The tools the monks use to paint with sand are elongated funnels called chakpur. Along one side of the chakpur is a line of raised serration upon which the lamas run a thin metal rod to vibrate a controlled stream of sand from the narrow end of the chakpur. mechanchaos and I got to try these out on a sand table set out for visitors. It's fun, but nowhere as easy to control as the lamas make it seem! Every tremor of my arm put a wiggle in my sand arm. The control they have over their bodies and minds must be amazing to remember the details so clearly and to execute them so perfectly, and with such graceful teamwork!

Over the course of our visit to Buffalo, I stopped back in to watch at every opportunity. Every visit revealed more painstaking work. It's progress was so swift as to be breathtaking. Sometimes a single monk would be laying in detail. Other times two. When four or six would be working it was like a dance as one would move away and another would take up work in his place, carefully working his way around the circle. On Monday I spent a half hour as if it was a minute watching the intricate details unfold.

Though not first in line on Tuesday, we were again rewarded for our patience with tickets to the deconstruction ceremony. The UB Center for the Arts was packed with people. Many without tickets to the event were turned away. We had to queue up near the gallery, even with our tickets, in hopes of getting a good spot inside.

Good spot indeed! I was right behind the two center lamas. When they chanted, I could have comfortably laid a hand on their shoulders had I been so inclined. Interestingly enough, it was not as easy to hear the resonance of the multiphonic chanting from behind. That's OK. I heard lots of it on other occasions. As the chanting was not in English, I had no idea when the moment would come. Then, the lama on my left stepped forward. Using his vajra, he pushed a line straight to the center. The breath I was holding came out in a long sigh. Clockwise, he did this at each side. Returning to the firt side, he pushed a like from the first corner to the center. Clockwise again he continued, until the mandala was scarred by an eight spoked wheel. Taking his place, another lama stepped to the altar and retrieved a brush. Clockwise, he brushed all the sand into the center, going around the circle twice to get it all.

As soon as this was done, the monks put away their instruments and brought spoons, lots of small, pre-labelled baggies, and a ceremonial urn to the table. As if the team was one, they worked on putting small amounts the sand into the baggies, handing them out to the gathered crowd, and putting the rest into the urn. I think my most treasured "souvenir" from our trip is that small piece of the mandala I was able to take home. It is said that it is a blessing and healing relic to have a bit of sand from a mandala. With all the concentration and intent put into it by the lamas, that would certainly make sense. For me, it is also a very vivid reminder of that living work of art.

In the opening entertainment before the Dalai Lama's speech, UB had put together a time-lapse video of the making of the mandala. mechanchaos and I were both clearly visible in the images from the closing ceremony! In the videos on the website, we're in both the Consecration and Deconstruction videos. I also noticed, as the stadium filled up, that the crowd looked just like the multicolored grains of sand in my little baggie: macrocosm to microcosm.

After the speech, we walked our asses off to follow the procession to the disbursement ceremony. We watched as wind and water carried the sand away to promote peace, compassion, and healing in the community. From colored sand in neatly arranged bowls to mandala to an even blend of sand floating down to Ellicott Creek, we'd seen it throughout. This magnificent monument to compassion lived only a few days, but I got to be a part of its life.

Stay tuned for more aspects of the trip to Buffalo!