(WBIR - KNOXVILLE) Tibetan monks visiting Knoxville completed a traditional piece of sand art after four days of teamwork.
Five monks created a sand mandala at the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture on the University of Tennessee's campus. It's a combination of symbols and iconography specific to Tibetan Buddhism. The sand mandala being created is one of the green tara.
Mandalas are used during meditation and help monks visualize an enlightened life. Madalas mean different things to different people, but the one created at the McClung Museum served as a symbol of patience and strength. But, it only lasts a moment.
As part of Tibetan tradition, mandalas are dissolved "after they've served their purpose". The dissolution ceremony lasts an hour.
It begins by a monk dropping golden flowers into the center. Then, he drags one finger through the sand until eight lines are shown. A paintbrush is used to mix together the remainder of the sand.
Traditionally, monks take all of the sand to a water source and dump it in because of its healing properties.
However, Friday's rainstorms prevented them from doing that in Knoxville. Instead, monks bagged all the sand and passed it out to museum visitors.
