Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Students read their classmates reflections on the choices in color and shape behind their mandala and the experience of creating the piece.

According to Tibetan Buddhist history, the purpose, meaning and techniques involved in the spiritual art of the sand mandala painting were taught by Buddha Sakyamuni in the sixth century B.C. in India.

Ordained as a Buddhist monk by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Yignyen is a member of the Dalai Lamas personal monastery. Yignyen has been invited to construct and lecture on mandalas across the country and holds a Master of Sutra and Tantra degree with highest honors, which is equivalent to a Ph.D.

The Venerable Tenzin Yignyen begins the traditional mandala dismantling ceremony in the William A. Baron Jr. 51 Multimedia Lab.

Tibetan mandalas are some of the most complex and selfless art forms in the world. They are recognized as expressions of Buddha's enlightened mind, and represent a cosmic or spiritual dwelling place for a deity.

Venerable Tenzin Yignyen releases the sand in Seneca Lake.

For centuries the ceremony was shared only among Buddhist practitioners. The 14th Dalai Lama helped promote Buddhism by allowing the creation of mandalas to be experienced around the world. The Venerable Tenzin Yignyen has been part of the HWS community since 1999.

In a ceremonial gesture, the Venerable Tenzin Yignyen throws grains of rice into the water of Seneca Lake.

In class, students are introduced to the world of the Tibetan Buddhist through emersion in history and understanding of the mandalas use. Students learn methods for drawing the geometric outlines, complete an individual painted version, and participate in the creation of a sand mandala.

Conducted by the Venerable Tenzin Yignyen, the lakeside ceremony is a consequential moment that captures the essence of the Tibetan-born monks important educational work at the Colleges.

After the grains of sand have been collected, they are then offered to the closest body of water for the benefit of marine life, the environment and all sentient beings.

Mandalas are created in the tradition of selflessness and non-import, and are therefore disassembled upon completion.

The Venerable Tenzin Yignyen leads a procession of students and community members to the shore of Seneca Lake for the conclusion of the dismantling ceremony.

Encircled by students and community members, the Venerable Tenzin Yignyen concludes the sacred practice of creating and dismantling a Tibetan Buddhist sand mandala.

The Venerable Tenzin Yignyen says students who take the mandala course learn much more than Buddhist history, art and philosophy. In the classes, Yignyen shares the principles for living a balanced, peaceful, compassionate and loving life.

Students studying abroad in Vietnam pose with Associate Professor of Anthropology Christopher Annear and his son.