Buddhist Monks Offer an Ancient Glimpse into their Culture

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FLORIDA - Perhaps no other art form requires as much concentration as the ancient ritual being performed in Naples. Six Tibetan Buddhist Monks are building a Sand Mandala at Unity of Naples. The art piece is made only one grain of colored sand at a time. "This is meditation, single point concentration," said Chophel, one of the traveling monks from the Gaden Shartse Monastery, "you really need to be focused on every detail." The ancient ceremony dates back more than a thousand years. The ritual offers several lessons, from being able to glimpse into a foreign culture, to patience and determination. Another lesson is impermanence. After it is finish, the mandala will be swept away and used to bless the Gulf of Mexico. "Nothing is going to last forever and in fact, today is never going to happen again, and we tend to forget that," said Chophel. [link]