Never mind that it was the creation of Tibetan monks who had spent two days on the floor of Union Station, meticulously pouring the sand into an intricate design as an expression of their Buddhist faith.
They were more than halfway done with the design -- called a mandala -- on Tuesday when they ended their work for the day and left. The little boy showed up later with his mother, who was taking a package to a post office in the hall.
''He did a little tap dance on it, completely destroying it,'' said Lama Chuck Stanford.
The monks saw the destruction Wednesday.
''No problem,'' said Geshe Lobsang Sumdup, leader of the group. ''We have three days more.''
AP
James: I heard about this story on several non-Buddhist news feeds and have to giggle a bit at the surprise from people that the monks are not bothered by the child's "dance." For many of us know the mandalas are always wiped away and the sand released into a near by river. Therefore symbolizing impermanence through the sweeping away and inter-being through the merging of the sand with the water. Hence the destruction of sand mandalas is just as sacred a process as the construction of them.
So in reality this child was actually a benefit to the monks by helping perform a sacred task. Thus in that context I find the whole thing quite cute and a good lesson in not taking ourselves too seriously and becoming attached to even the most beautiful, seemingly precious things.
Sometimes children are our best teachers.
~Peace to all beings~
