Two Buddhist monks from India were invited by Dartmouth to
create an elaborate sand mandala in four days. The monks used
small tubes to carefully lay colored sand imported from India
onto the surface. The mandala contained religious elements from
Tibetan Buddhism. Before the monks dismantled the mandala, they
delivered a traditional prayer. The mandala's destruction
symbolizes impermanence, that even the most beautiful objects
meet their end. The sand of the dismantled mandala was placed in
a jar wrapped in traditional silk garments. Spectators were
invited to take some of the sand and place it on their forehead
as a blessing. The monks, followed by a crowd of spectators,
made their way across the College Green to Occom Pond. The monks
performed one last prayer before depositing the sand. A monk
poured sand into the frozen pond, symbolizing the sand's return
to nature.