Yesterday was the final day of the sacred sand mandala at the Mary Brogan Museum. Since I had dutifully witnessed the daily progress of this creation to bring about peace, I needed to be there when it was dismantled. As you can see by the images, it was the largest crowd I've seen all week and I didn't have a very good spot, but, I was there.
All of the monks gathered around the mandala donning gold and red caps and then the mechanical, eerie chanting began. The chanting was broken by up by a drum, symbols and pipes. The intensity of the ceremony drowned out the roars of the dinosaur exhibit.
After three cycles of this, the eldest monk walked around the mandala, then reached out to push the sand into the center, creating a cross. All that hard work that I'd witnessed throughout the week, transformed, melded. Once he was done, the younger monks continued to chant and brushed the sand into a pile in the center. It was a a grayish-blue color with hints of yellow. Small bags of the sand were then distributed to everyone who wanted some - to either place around the exterior of the home to bless it or to sit on the mantle (mine's sitting on my shelf, next to my stone Buddha head).
Following the ceremony, the monks were to take the sand to Lake Ella and disperse it into the water, return it to the universe and bless the area. And who said there's not much happening in Tallahassee?
[Click here to view Day 1]
[Click here to view Day 2]
[Click here to view Day 3]
[Click here to view Day 4]
[Click here to view Day 5]
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