San Mandala Of Vajrabhairava

Before attending the construction of the mandala by the Tibetan monks from Drepung Loseling, it may good to know some background information about a mandala. To begin with, you may be asking what exactly a mandala is. As explained in an article, The San Mandala of Vajrabhairava by Daniel Cozort, “A mandala is a ‘circle’: the family circle of a deity and his or her emotions; the architectural circle of the deity’s mansion and grounds; and the cosmic circle of the universe itself”(Cozort 9). Geshe Thubten Loden said in his lecture, "The Symbolism of the Sand Mandala", in Tibet, a mandala is called kyil-khor which means the center and surrounding. A mandala is circular in shape and looks like an intricate and elaborate piece of artwork. The act of creating a mandala is a type of ritual performed within the Buddhist religion. It is most commonly made with colored sand on top of some type of flat surface, but it can also be in the form of a painting on a canvas or a three-dimensional representation. Essentially, a mandala is a symbolic representation of the universe. Included in the artwork are deities and symbols of the buddhist religion such as the lotus flower.
There will be a total of around ten monks who will be taking turns laying the sand and performing the ceremonies throughout the week they will be here. The monks will be coming from a monastery called the Drepung Loseling Monastery. It was originally founded in Tibet in 1416, but in 1991 an establishment was opened in Atlanta. Monks from this monastery go on tours throughout the United States performing various Tibetan Buddhist rituals, including the construction of the mandala. They do this in hopes of spreading tradition and culture and to teach others about their religion, which is very important to