New Age, Alternative,
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Ritual
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Ritual
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Sensua Gallery's mission is to inspire people to explore the many spiritual paths and to enrich people's lives spiritually. “We believe that divine spirit has shown itself to humanity under many different forms and names... that there are truths to be found in many different spiritual paths,” explains Scott McElroy, the gallery's manager. “We have striven to integrate our beliefs in the possibility of a unified world into all aspects of Sensua.” Sensua's atmosphere evokes a sense of the sacred and mystical, and will provide the perfect complement to the meditative building of the sand mandala. To
create the mandala, the monks painstakingly
lay millions of grains of colored sands
into place, over the course of days
or weeks. The finished work is a vibrant,
colorful, exquisitely detailed design,
rich in meaning and symbolism.
The
opening ceremony, open to the public,
will be held on Saturday, December 1st.
The ceremony will begin with the monks
blessing and consecrating the site with
chants, music, prayer, and mantra recitation.
This sacred ceremony promises to be
a spiritually uplifting and unforgettable
event. Shortly after the consecration,
the monks will begin drawing the lines
of the geometric design on the mandala
base. Colored sand will then be applied
to the design over the course of the
next seven days.
The
monks will conclude the creation of
the mandala with a consecration ceremony
which will be held on December 8th.
Then they will ritually destroy the
mandala, sweeping up the colored sands
to symbolize the impermanence of all
things. Half of the sand will be distributed
to the audience. The remainder of the
sand will be taken to the Chattahoochee
River, at the nearby Georgia Environmental
Organization Headquarters. There the
monks will ceremonially pour the sand
into the river, to carry the healing
energies of the mandala throughout the
world.
Sensua
Gallery will be open every day during
the creation of the mandala from December
1st through December 8th and there will
be daily question and answer sessions
with the monks' spokesperson during
the event. Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, Ph.D.,
the director of the Drepung Loseling
Institute at Emory, will lecture twice.
In
addition to the Buddha Achala mandala,
there will be a side table set up where
a “community mandala” will
be created. Attendees will be invited
to participate in the creation of the
community mandala, using the same tools
as the monks use. This will be a smaller,
simpler design of universal symbols
for peace and healing. This event will
provide an opportunity for people of
all cultures and backgrounds to come
together with a common mind and spirit,
and to channel their prayers for peace,
hope, love and protection into the world.
For
more information about this event call
(404)584-0237.
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