This is worth the click, a time-lapse movie of the creation of a sand mandala as part of the exhibit “In the Realm of the Buddha,” up through through July 18, 2010 at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C. From the Web site about the exhibit:
Buddhist monk and mandala master Venerable Ngawang Chojor created a Tibetan sand mandala in the Sackler pavilion March 13–21, 2010. A mandala is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional palace that exists in the mind of the artist; it is considered a place where Buddhist deities reside. The intricate process of creating a mandala, which requires great patience and focus, serves as an aid to Buddhist meditation. Upon completion the mandala was consecrated, then swept up and dispersed to signify the impermanent nature of existence.
The ritual was captured by a camera mounted on a platform directly above the mandala. Images shot at five-minute intervals were merged to create this time-lapse movie.
