Tibetan monks from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery will be on West Virginia Wesleyan College’s campus from Tuesday, October 29th to Friday, November 1st to have a ceremony of healing for the community. They will be constructing a sand mandala, performing a traditional Tibetan Monastic dance called the Cham, as well as talking about their religious beliefs and philosophy.

On Wednesday, they will begin to build the sand mandala in the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library. A sand mandala is an age-old custom of Tibetan Buddhism that is constructed from grains of colorful sand into an awe-inspiring geometric pattern. It will be finished at 1:00 p.m. on Friday and will be disassembled at 2:00 p.m. The sand will then be taken to the Buckhannon River to be dispersed. This practice is done to symbolize healing and to purify the earth.

In Hyma Auditorium on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., the monks, through translation, will be there to educate and talk about their religious beliefs and practices in order for people to better understand their culture.

At 7:30 p.m. on Friday the monks will be performing their traditional dance, the Cham, in Wesley Chapel. This dance uses sacred mask, music, and colorful costumes.

The sand mandala exhibit in the library and the talk in Hyma will be free and open to the public. The Cham dance will also be open to the public, but there will be a free will donation taken at the door. The Students for a Free Tibet and their advisor, art professor Margo Davis, were instrumental in bringing the monks to campus.