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The Mystical Arts of Tibet

Dul-tson-kyil-khor: Mandala of Colored Powders

On View:
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 — Wednesday, January 6, 2010


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From all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite.

In Tibetan, this art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which literally means "mandala of colored powders." Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks.

Formed of a traditional prescribed iconography that includes geometric shapes and a multitude of ancient spiritual symbols, the sand-painted mandala is used as a tool for re-consecrating the earth and its inhabitants.