TruthBook Religious News Blog

Originally published May 09, 2009
By Ron Cassie
News-Post Staff

Burgundy- and saffron-robed monks offered deep chants and prayers while they created a colorful sand mandala last week. And some 250 professors, students and townspeople crammed Scarborough Library at Shepherd University to glimpse their sacred art.

Of all of the Tantric Buddhist artistic traditions, the 1,200-year-old sand painting remains one of the most intriguing and exquisite. Tibetans refer to it as the "architecture of enlightenment."

Tenzin Phentsok explained the mandala symbols: the Lotus Flower, representing spiritual purity and divine origination; the Eight-Spoked Wheel, representing the Eight-Fold Path; and the Knot of Eternity acknowledging the interdependent nature of existence. All are meditations on aspects of Tibetan Buddhism.

In accordance with tradition, the mandala was destroyed to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists. A parade from the library followed the monks several blocks up to Town Run stream where the sand was poured into the water.

"Our blessed sand and prayers are released into a flowing body of water so that they will eventually be carried into the oceans and to the other continents around world," Phentsok said. "It is a very powerful healing practice."

All 10 of the monks who visited Shepherd University last week as part of a four-day residency program are from India. "All originally from Tibetan families," Phentsok said.

"I think the people of the United States are freedom lovers, people who love freedom and democracy and live with more openness to new things," Phentsok said. "That's why I believe the Tibetan culture is embraced here, it is very much based on openness, as well as love, compassion and wisdom."

Phentsok said the traveling group's mission is to bring more peace and happiness to the world.

"As sentient beings we all want to be free from suffering," he said. "All happiness involves inner values, not materialistic things, which provide not even a single moment of recurring joy and happiness."

Please click on "external source" to view the mandala and read the entire article.

Labels: Buddhism, global peace, kindness, mandala, Ron Cassie

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Monday, April 27, 2009

Atlantans Return from Three-Year Global Peace Walk

By Alice Gordon, Staff Writer, The Atlanta Progressive News
(April 25, 2009)

(APN) ATLANTA -- Atlantan, Audri Scott Williams, had a vision in April 2005. She and the Spirit of Truth Foundation wanted to spread the message of global peace. Armed with the vision and word of mouth, six people agreed to sell their wordly assets and start out on a march across six continents doing public service work. The march took three and a half years, and covered 17 countries and six continents.

What began at the King Center in Atlanta on October 21, 2005, ended on the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King in April 2009.

The group put their money together to start the march, including retirement saving and pensions. As they walked they were able to get contributions and often what was needed would appear, Williams said.

They would do community service wherever they went. "It was very much in our nature to always be mindful of being in service of a team as well as the community," Williams said. They helped Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans. They worked at food banks, ranches, and spoke at churches, schools, and other community organizations.

Much of their work was in keeping themselves centered believing peace begins within. First while advocating no religion there was a belief that the walkers had to be connected to something greater than themselves. They considered this "the energy that helped us to move forward," Williams said. They emphasized what they called detraumatization, being supportive of one another and able to communicate.

"Humor was very important in our group circle; every morning we laughed a lot... We also used it just to keep the energy at a certain level. Whenever we would get too heavy with things we would say, 'OK stop and drop. Get out of your head, get in your heart.' We had these little trigger sayings that we would use with each other."

The members of the group were asked to spend at least 20 minutes not just walking through, but becoming conscious of nature and things around them.

In the worldwide communities the group found they could only help by meeting people where they were at and understanding their boundaries and those of the community. "Really getting to know... what works and what doesn’t work. At the same time we have to know what is the time to shift those boundaries," Williams said.

The Trail of Dreams World Peace Walk was created to focus attention on peace and global transformation as the group moved around the planet. The group wanted to meet people and establish relationships. "We were not trying to be political or social; we were not trying to be anything other than moving people to people heart to heart. In order to get to that level to attract human relationships we had to find that within ourselves," Williams said.

Please click on "external source to read this complete article - well worthwhile reading...

Labels: Alice Gordon, Atlanta, global peace, service, Trail of Dreams World Peace Walk