World Peace Sand Mandala

This sacred World Peace Sand Mandala was created in January 2019 at Drikung Dharma Surya Center by Tibetan Buddhist monks of the Labrang Tashi Kyil Monastery in Dehradun, India.

The sand mandala is constructed by millions of grains of colored sand meticulously laid into place on a flat platform to represent the most unique, esoteric and exquisite artistic tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.  The mandala’s circular shape symbolizes unity and wholeness with each symbol having multiple meanings, representing the interconnectedness of all things.

The World Peace Sand Mandala was originally designed and constructed for St. Paul Catholic Center’s Interfaith Peace Ceremony where persons of many faiths said prayers of peace in union with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama blessed the mandala and urged monks to continue to create it to spread a spirit of peace and harmony throughout the world.

The World Peace Sand Mandala is drawn on a mythical earth, featuring important images such as The Four Perfect Friends, Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism, and Symbols of the World’s Great Religions, with a sole purpose to generate compassion and inner peace, affect purification and healing, symbolize the impermanence of all that exists, and encourage everyone in the world to live peacefully together in loving-kindness, compassion and harmony.

The World Peace Sand Mandala is carefully framed and sealed with durable, waterproof, weather-resistant materials for outdoor, and installed in the center front of the DDSC temple.  The World Peace Sand Mandala is dedicated to interfaith harmony and world unity, displaying holy symbols from the world’s major religions, for visitors to look at, to venerate and to reflect. As the world becomes more inter-connected, another primary mission of DDSC is to bring everyone together, from all walks of life and all walks of faith and tradition, to freely discuss ways and means of learning and understanding each other and to find a common ground to achieve the ultimate goal of achieving the state of happiness, freedom and inner peace within and among all people and nations on earth, and bringing genuine relief from suffering for all sentient beings without exception.

Drikung Dharma Surya and its infrastructure unwaveringly support and promote the practices of love, compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, humility, self-discipline and non-violence as essential motivations for people and nations to cooperate and resolve differences despite distinct cultures, philosophies, religions and governance.

This resonates with the very same aspiration and vision of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, His Holiness the 37th Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang and His Eminence the 8th Garchen Rinpoche.