Tibetan monks to create mandala artwork at Stockton

A group of Tibetan monks will share their art with the Stockton community.

The group from Drepung Gomang Monastery will spend a week on Stockton University’s campus in Galloway Township starting Monday, as part of a cultural visit titled “Healing Through Mandala.”

The monks will participate in several activities as part of the visit titled, "Healing through Mandala."

It will begin with an opening ceremony 10:30 a.m. Monday in the Campus Center. The monks will begin creating a sand mandala, which symbolizes the Buddhist cosmos, according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

They will destroy the mandal at a closing ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Friday. That symbolizes the transitory nature of all phenomena.

The monks will also host several other events that are open to the public, unless noted:

• Tuesday: At 2:30 p.m., the monks will help participants draw the mantra of compassion on pebbles.
• Wednesday: At 7:30 p.m., the monks will perform a Tibetan traditional dance during the Phoenix Night Market hosted by Stockton’s Asian Student Alliance.
• Thursday: at 8:30 a.m., he monks will perform a tea offering ritual, the history of tea in Tibet and a Tibetan tea tasting. At 5 p.m., select students and local community members will participate in a Tibetan cooking class at the Townsend Residential Life Center.

All events are open to the public and will take place in the Campus Center Grand Hall.