For Hillary Zaken, Elon’s sand mandala tradition is an important piece of starting the fall semester.
The Green Tara sand mandala is created by Geshe Palden Sangpo, a Tibetan Buddhist monk of the Kadampa Center in Raleigh. Sangpo began working on the design Sept. 11 and will finish — and destroy — the mandala at 3 p.m. Sept. 13 in the Numen Lumen Pavilion.
Zaken is the interim assistant dean of multifaith engagement at Elon and said beyond bringing greater multifaith understanding to campus, the sand mandala shows students that nothing is permanent.
“It's OK to work hard on something and then to wipe it away, because you still had the experience,” Zaken said.
When the mandala is destroyed on Sept. 13, the sand will be shared with members of the Elon community. Zaken said carrying the sand symbolizes the blessings and intent that went into making the mandala.
During the opening ceremony, Kadampa Center Outreach Coordinator Elise Strevel explained to attendees that Green Tara is a female Buddha of compassion and peace, according to Strevel.
Geshe Palden Sangpo recites prayers during the opening ceremony of sand mandala Sept. 11.
A representation of Green Tara in the center of the mandala sets the work’s intention of compassion, understanding and harmony — something that Strevel said was especially important during an election year.
“The moment that we see this mandala, we remember what our intention and our goal is,” Strevel said. “The moment that you intend those things you are already on the path to achieving them.”
Among the opening ceremony attendees was the Rev. Kirstin Boswell. As the university chaplain and dean of multifaith engagement, Boswell said encouraging multifaith literacy was an important part of her work at Elon.
“People should be able to, during their time here on campus, learn about other faith traditions that might be different than their own and better help them to be able to engage in the wider world when they leave Elon,” Boswell said. “This is an important aspect of that, because this is the tradition that many people may not have had much prior knowledge about, may never have seen a ceremony like this and may never again.”
Monks from Kadampa Center have visited Elon each year since 2013 — with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic — to create a Green Tara sand mandala. Boswell said she is excited to see the community engage with the mandala over the three days it is constructed.
“It's exciting that something that is so integral to religious and spiritual life here on campus is so well attended and embraced by so many people,” Boswell said.
Strevel told attendees the positive energy and intentions they brought to the Sacred Space in Numen Lumen Pavilion would add to the positive energy Sangpo was calling upon while creating the mandala. Even if attendees only viewed the mandala for a moment, Strevel said she hoped it would calm and center them.
“Every time you leave this place, you are carrying that collective energy with you,” Strevel said. “Even if you don't really understand what all colors and symbols mean, you know that there's something positive being generated here, and you are contributing to it.”