College students do not have the reputation for being patient. They are notorious for their obsessions with instant messenger, instant soup and instant gratification. Beginning Wednesday and lasting until Saturday, the Wesleyan community is being taught a grand lesson in patience, delicacy and precision. The monks of Drepung Loseling monastery in southern India have taken up residence in Middletown in order to create a mandala in the lobby of Olin Library.
The monks work from noon until 7 p.m. each day, placing grains of sand to create an intricate pattern meant to promote peace and harmony. The mandala tradition involves the painstaking and exacting application of colored powder to a specific design, or cosmogram, which represents universal healing and enlightenment. Mandalas can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to construct.
On Saturday at 2 p.m. the completed mandala will be swept into an urn to symbolize the ephemeral nature of life. The urn will be taken through Middletown to the Connecticut River so that the mandala’s peaceful energies may be shared with the world. Students are encouraged to participate in the concluding ceremony and procession, beginning at Olin Library.
“[The idea for the program germinated last year as a] wonderful cross-campus collaboration between the Center for the Arts and Olin Library,” said Pamela Tatge, director of Center for the Arts. “We then approached Steve Angle [director of the Freemen Center for East Asian Studies] and it became this fantastic collaboration to make the residency happen.”
The project now also includes Middletown’s police department, merchant association and Commission on Arts.
“We also partnered with communications and ITS to create a special website in order that students could see the mandala under construction” Tatge said. “We wanted to be as accessible as possible. The Center for the Arts likes to celebrate cultures that are in the Middletown community, and this is a wonderful way to celebrate the Tibetan community, which is such an important part of Middletown. We thought it would be a phenomenal way to start off the semester.”
The program began with an opening ceremony that included a short speech, chanting and dance.
“I think this is a very appropriate way to commemorate the third anniversary of Sept. 11. It gives me hope that from art, music and spirituality we might reclaim some of the humanity we’ve lost,” said Jesse Brenner ’05.
Other students shared Brenner’s enthusiasm.
Sephirah Feinberg ’05, who had previously seen a mandala made at another school, pronounced the entire program incredible.
“I knew [the project] could be grounding. It’s an amazing process,” Feinberg said.
“We learned about this last year in my religion class, and it’s nice to see it alive, to see it real and here,” said Emily Einhorn ’08.
The monks themselves are receiving a warm reception from the Wesleyan community. They will dine at Wesleyan’s own Buddhist House on Saturday. Tsultrim Davis, head of programming at Buddhist House, expressed his excitement.
“The opportunity afforded to the Wesleyan community with the residence of the monks from the Drepung Loseling monastery is absolutely phenomenal. The chance to meet these monks and watch them create something as beautiful, both physically and spiritually, as a mandala is unique and profound. For most Western [people] this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and those who witness it and partake of it will most certainly be emotionally touched.”
According to Chosang, the spokesperson from Drepung Loseling, the monks feel equally privileged to be at Wesleyan. Traveling on a one-year U.S. visa, they have spent time around the country creating mandalas, and expect to return to India in Nov.
“We have three reasons for coming to the U.S.,” Chosang said. “We want to promote peace and harmony. This is our first priority. Second, we would like to build awareness about the situation in Tibet with China. Third, we would like to raise money for our monastery, which houses 2,700 monks. We will use the money we make to provide them with health care and education.”
When asked about his impressions of Americans, Chosang was more than enthusiastic.
“People here are very friendly, courteous, and respectful of our traditions, philosophy and culture,” he said. “I would like to thank the American people for being so kind and supportive to the Tibetan people and their struggles.”
After the concluding ceremonies on Saturday the widely-lauded “Sacred Song and Sacred Dance” concert will take place at Crowell Auditorium at 9 p.m. Tickets for the concert are $6 for students, $19 for non-students.
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