A List
1/10/05

TIBETAN BUDDHIST SAND MANDALA TO BE CONSTRUCTED AT SLU

CANTON – From Friday through Sunday, January 21 to 23, the Venerable Tenzin 
Yignyen will construct a Tibetan Buddhist sand mandala at the Richard F. Brush 
Art Gallery at St. Lawrence University. He will also present a "Teaching and 
Meditation on Compassion" in the gallery on Saturday, January 22, at 7:30 p.m. 
	For three weeks in the spring of 1999, Tenzin constructed an elaborate 
Kalachakra Mind mandala at St. Lawrence University. This year, for three days 
only, he will construct a Chenrezig mandala based on the Tibetan Buddhist 
deity of compassion. Also known in Sanskrit as Avalokiteshvara, Chenrezig 
is the manifestation of the infinite compassion of all Buddhas. His Holiness 
the Dalai Lama is understood to be the living incarnation of this deity.
	A sand mandala is a complex, symbolic representation of the cosmos 
and is used as a tool in meditation and visualization in order to attain 
enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. According to Sidney 
Piburn and Tenzin Yignyen, "each mandala is a sacred mansion, the home of a 
particular deity who represents and embodies enlightened qualities such as 
wisdom or compassion. Both the deity, who resides at the center of the mandala, 
and the mandala itself are recognized as pure expressions of a Buddha's 
fully enlightened mind."
	Tenzin Yignyen was born in Phari, Tibet, in 1953. He is an ordained 
Tibetan Buddhist monk who received a Master of Sutra and Tantra Studies in 
1985 from the Namgyal Monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, 
India. After two years in Mongolia in 1993-94, Tenzin taught Tibetan Buddhism, 
sacred and ritual arts, and language at the Namgyal branch monastery in 
Ithaca, New York. He has since created sand mandalas in museums and educational 
institutions throughout the United States, including the Cleveland Museum of 
Art, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, the Rochester Memorial Art 
Gallery and the Asia Society in New York City.  Tenzin is currently a 
visiting professor of Tibetan Buddhist art and philosophy at Hobart and 
William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.
	The Tibetan Buddhist programs are co-sponsored by the University 
Chaplain's office as part of a "Fortnight of Non-violent Events" from 
January 17 (the commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday) through 
January 30 (the anniversary of Gandhi's assassination and the date of the 
upcoming elections in Iraq).  During this two-week period, a series of lectures, 
films, discussions and other activities are scheduled to highlight non-violent 
ideas and actions from a variety of disciplines and faiths. The sand mandala, 
teaching and meditation are presented in conjunction with an exhibition in 
the Brush Gallery entitled "Histories Are Mirrors: The Path of Conflict 
through Afghanistan and Iraq," by New York Times photojournalist Tyler 
Hicks.
	The sand mandala will remain on view through Saturday, February 19, 
though Tenzin will not be able to return to campus to dismantle the mandala. 
The gallery will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the three-day construction 
of the mandala. Regular gallery hours are noon to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 
and noon to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. For more information, please contact 
Gallery Director Cathy Tedford, at 315 229-5174.

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