Coming to Santa Fe July 12-18!
One of our most popular annual events returns this year as we welcome back the monks of the Mystical Arts Tour. Witness the creation of a Green Tara sand mandala, a centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist tradition in which millions of grains of colored sand are painstakingly placed to form a sacred image of enlightened compassion and activity. When complete, the mandala is ceremonially dissolved and its sands released into flowing water, embodying the Buddhist teaching of impermanence.
About Green Tara
Tara is one of the most beloved figures in Tibetan Buddhism — a fully enlightened being who embodies the compassionate activity of all the buddhas. Her name means “she who liberates,” and her practice is said to offer swift protection from fear, obstacles, and suffering in all its forms.
Green Tara is her most active form. Seated in a posture of readiness — one leg drawn in, one extended and poised to rise — she is understood to be ever-ready to respond to those who call on her. Her green color is associated with the wind element and with swift, unobstructed action. In her left hand, she holds a blue utpala lotus, symbolizing purity and the unfolding of awakening; her right hand rests in the gesture of supreme generosity.
The Twenty-One Taras, each a distinct emanation with her own color, mantra, and function, all arise from Green Tara as their root. Her mantra — oṃ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā — is among the most widely recited in the Tibetan tradition.
To construct a sand mandala of Green Tara is to build, grain by grain, a visual representation of her enlightened abode; an act of devotion, offering, and accumulated merit for all who participate and all who witness it.
Mystical Arts Tour Schedule
Sunday, July 12
Opening Ceremony — 12:30–1:00 pm
Mandala Construction & Viewing — 1:00–2:00 pm
Monday, July 13 | Wednesday, July 15 | Thursday, July 16 | Friday, July 17
Mandala Construction & Viewing — 2:00–5:30 pm
Meditation & Chanting — 5:30–6:00 pm
Saturday, July 18
Closing Ceremony — 3:00–4:00 pm
The public is welcome to come during construction hours to observe the monks at work. Each visit offers something different — the mandala grows day by day, and the atmosphere of quiet concentration in the shrine room is itself worth the trip.
To schedule a house/office blessing by donation, email Harmon Houghton at: harmon@clearlightbooks.com
All are welcome. No prior experience with Buddhism is necessary.
Be the first to hear about our special classes, events, and retreats!
