Tibetan monks to create mandala artwork and meet community next week

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP - A group of Tibetan monks from Drepung Gomang Monastery will spend a week on Stockton University’s campus starting Monday, April 7 as part of a cultural visit titled “Healing Through Mandala.”

The Tibetan monks will participate in several activities on campus, beginning with an opening ceremony 10:30 a.m. Monday, April 7 in the Campus Center. During the ceremony, the monks will begin to create a sand mandala. According to Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, mandala symbolizes the Buddhist cosmos.

Their work will continue at the end of the week during a closing ceremony 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 11 in the Campus Center where the monks will destroy the sand mandala to symbolize the transitory nature of all phenomena.

All events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, are open to the public and will take place in the Campus Center Grand Hall on Stockton’s Galloway campus. The work on the mandala will continue throughout the week.

The monks will also host several other events that are open to the public, unless noted:

• April 8 at 2:30 p.m. in the Campus Center: The monks will help participants to draw the mantra of compassion on pebbles.
• April 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Event Room: The monks will perform a Tibetan traditional dance during the Phoenix Night Market hosted by Stockton’s Asian Student Alliance.
• April 10 at 8:30 a.m. in the Campus Center Theatre: The monks will perform a tea offering ritual, the history of tea in Tibet, and a Tibetan tea tasting. At 5 p.m. select students and local community members will participate in a Tibetan cooking class at the Townsend Residential Life Center.