Sand Mandala Attracts Record Number of Visitors

During the penultimate day of their residency at Gold Hill Museum, which coincided with the Sunday of Gold Hill Fair, the Tibetan monks of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery attracted a record number of visitors. 617 adults and 84 children came to view the finishing touches being put to the Mandala, an intricate representation of a palace with gardens and four gates aligned to the cardinal points of the compass. The design was created from memory using hollow pipes to vibrate grains of brightly coloured powdered marble into place. On the final morning to the accompaniment of chanted prayers and horn playing the Mandala was blessed and then swept up with some of the particles being deposited in the Museum Garden.