Ithaca College is proud to announce that it will be welcoming several monks from Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located just south of the IC campus, who will construct a mandala inside the upper atrium of the Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise. The creation of the mandala in the home to the college’s School of Business will center a week of programming and learning opportunities beginning Tuesday, October 3, and extending through Monday, October 9.
The mandala that is planned for Ithaca College will be constructed out of multi-colored sand and is dedicated to Chenrezig, the bodhisattva (highly advanced spiritual being) of compassion, also known as Avalokiteśvara. Tibetan Buddhists traditionally recognize Chenrezig as the patron of Tibet and view the XIV Dalai Lama as an emanation of Chenrezig in the physical world.
The construction of the mandala will begin on Wednesday, October 4, with a brief ceremony led by Ithaca College President La Jerne Terry Cornish and representatives from Namgyal Monastery at 10:00 a.m. in the upper atrium of the School of Business. The construction of the mandala will continue throughout the week with the monks working 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Each day, beginning at 3:00 p.m., the monks will do ritual chanting followed by a brief mediation session.
Once completed, the mandala will remain on display until 4:00 p.m. on Monday, October 9, at which point the monks will lead a dissolution ceremony involving the gathering of the sand and a procession to Muller Chapel Pond. The ritual pouring of the sand into the body of water, in addition to formally dismissing the mandala-deity, powerfully expresses the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence and is believed to spread the karmic merit accumulated by the construction of the mandala to all sentient beings. Following the dissolution ceremony, there will be a special reception with light refreshments and continued conversation at Muller Chapel.
In addition to the creation of the mandala and the dissolution ceremony, there will also be many additional learning opportunities during the course of the week. These events kick off on Tuesday, October 3, and end with the dissolution ceremony on Monday, October 9.
- Tues., October 3: 12:00-1:00 p.m. (Klingenstein Lounge) | “Sacred Objects” sharing and discussion session curated by David Salomon, Associated Professor, Department of Art, Art History, and Architecture at Ithaca College.
- Wed., October 4: 6:30-8:00 PM (Park School of Communications Room 279)| Film Screening of “My Reincarnation”
- Thur., October 5: 12:00-1:00 PM (Klingenstein Lounge) | Religion Roundtable with Department of Philosophy and Religion and Office of Religious and Spiritual Life
- Thur., October 5: 6:00-8:00 PM (Klingenstein Lounge) | Public Lecture, “Communal Transcendence: Mandala Creation and Shared Imagination,” by Jane-Marie Law, Associate Professor of Religion at Cornell University
- Sun., October 8: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (The Soil Factory – 142 Ithaca Beer Drive, Ithaca, NY) | Mandala Open House Part 1 – Explore mandala making through weaving and mending techniques with local artist-educator Kathrin Achenbach.
- Sun., October 8: 2:00 – 4:00 PM (Business School Upper and Lower Atriums) | Mandala Open House Part 2 – Explore mandala making and learning more about Buddhist traditions and religious symbols at this event for all ages curated by Ithaca College students Nandini Agarwal, Zoe Kwasnicki, and Prakriti Panwar.
All events related to this project are open to all students, faculty, staff and campus visitors. To learn more about mandalas, see a full schedule of events, and view images and videos of the mandala created on IC’s campus during the Fall 2022 semester, visit the Tibetan Buddhist Mandal Project website. Please stay tuned for additional updates during the coming weeks!
If you have questions or are seeking specific accommodations, please contact us at mindfulic@ithaca.edu.