PHILADELPHIA (October 23, 2009) – The Venerable Losang Samten, spiritual director of Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia, will create a Kalachakra, a Tibetan sand mandala, at the Open Lens Gallery of Gershman Hall (401 S. Broad St.) at the University of the Arts over the course of the next month, as an offering to the city of Philadelphia. The event is sponsored by the University of the Arts and the Gershman Y.

Known as a Buddhist “Wheel of Time,” a Kalachakra is a Tibetan mandala, a geometric or pictorial design made of sand. It is generally enclosed in a circle that represents the universe and is used in meditation and ritual. The mandala is ceremoniously destroyed shortly after construction to illustrate the Buddhist teaching of impermanence.

Samten is also the spiritual director of Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Middletown, Conn.; and Chenrezig Himalayan Cultural Center of El Paso, Texas. After escaping from Tibet with his family by trekking over the Himalayas to safe haven in Nepal and then India, he entered Namgyal Monastery. There, he received his master's degree in Buddhist philosophy, Sutra, and Tantra, the equivalent to the western Ph.D. In 1994, Samten received an honorary doctorate of divinity from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. He was granted an honorary doctorate of art from the Maine College of Art in 1995. He taught Tibetan language at the University of Pennsylvania from 1994 – 1997 and was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2002. In 2004, he was awarded a Pew Fellowship in the Arts.

The opening blessings and prayers at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, October 26 kick off a month of both free and ticketed mandala-creating events. The public is invited to view Losang creating the mandala from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Sunday. The work is a form of meditation, but during breaks, Losang enjoys and encourages questions and dialogue.

Events
Tibetan Ritual Dance Workshop
Meditate through movement with Samten and University adjunct dance professor Manfred Fischbeck, choreographer founder of Group Motion Dance Company, as modern and ancient dance come together.$10 (general admission), $7 (60 years and over); students, free.
October 27, 7 p.m.
Gershman Hall Gymnasium

His Holiness, the Himalayas and Hollywood
A special evening with Shewo Lobsang Dhargyal, biographer and senior cabinet member to the Dalai Lama, who was imprisoned for 20 years for his devotion to the Dalai Lama. Martin Scorsese’s documentary “The Making of Kundun” will be screened with Samten providing a running commentary. Samten served as a religious technical advisor to Scorsese and appeared in the film. $15 (general admission); $10 (60 years and over); students, $5.
November 2, 7:30 p.m.
Gershman Hall Chapel

Kalachakra Meditation
Samten will lead a guided meditation to bring about bliss and inner peace through purifying the body, speech and mind. You need not have any experience with Buddhist practice to attend. Free.
November 13, 7:30 p.m.
Gershman Hall Chapel

The Ritual and Secular Arts of Tibet
Experience the rich musical tradition of the “Land of Snows” with musicians from Tibet. The evening will open and close with ritual chants by Tibetan Buddhist monks. $15 (general admission); $10 (60 years and over); students, $5.
November 15, 7 p.m.
Gershman Hall, Levitt Auditorium

Performance in Two Parts
Tibetan Buddhist practice is founded on the cultivation of the “two wings of the bird,” compassion and wisdom. Part one is an original collaborative work by University Dance and Music students inspired by the Kalachakra Mandala. Part two features Group Motion Dance Company with Fischbeck and School of Music adjunct associate professor Andrea Clearfield. $20 (general admission); $15 (60 years and over); students, $5.
November 18, 7:30 p.m.
Gershman Hall, Levitt Auditorium

Closing Blessings and Prayers
The entire University community is invited to help brush the sacred sand into the center of the mandala, which is a profound affirmation of the impermanence of all things. Each person is invited to take a small amount of the sand, while the remainder is ritually poured into a nearby body of water as a great blessing. Free.
November 22, noon
Gershman Hall Open Lens Gallery
The University of the Arts is the nation’s first and only university dedicated to the visual, performing and communication arts. Its 2,400 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs on its campus in the heart of Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. The institution’s roots as a leader in educating creative individuals date back to 1868.

 

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