SAND TO DUST “Art is long, life is short,” said Hippocrates. The Greek sage clearly wasn’t thinking of a sand painting. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, monks create intricate mandalas from millions of multicolored sand grains, then destroy them as a metaphor for the transience of all things on this Earth. This weekend, the Drepung Loseling monks, who relocated from Tibet to India after the Chinese invasion, bring this tradition to Dartmouth College. On Thursday, the building of the mandala starts with a ritual, after which community members can participate in their own sand “painting” adjacent to the monks’. On Saturday, the holy men bring their multiphonic chanting, mystical dance and rainbow-colored costumes to the Hop for an evening performance. By Sunday evening, the sand mandala will be history, its remains strewn in the Connecticut River. See it while you can...
The Mystical Arts of Tibet Sand painting opening ceremony, Thursday, July 26, Collis Center Plaza, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., noon. Free. Closing ceremony, Sunday, July 29, noon. Free. Community Sand Mandala Painting, Collis Center Lower Level, Thursday, July 26, 1-7 p.m.; Friday, July 27, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Saturday, July 28, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Sunday, July 29, 9-11 a.m. Free. Info, 603-646-2010.
‘Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing,’ Saturday, July 28, Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center, Hanover, N.H., 8 p.m. $12. Info, 603-646-2422.
