Mandala's message: Nothing is permanent

link
By Jennifer Reeger TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, November 7, 2006

...One of the monks, Thupten Chosan, said each mandala is built to a different Buddha. The one at IUP was built for the Buddha of Compassion. The use of sand signifies interdependence.

"Each one of these grains of sand in itself is pretty meaningless, but together they create something," he said. Each color, each design symbolizes something different. At the center of the IUP mandala was a lotus flower "which symbolizes the purity and clarity of basic human nature," Chosan said. "At birth, our nature of mind is not sullied by emotions."
"Mandala is one of the highest forms of meditation -- one of the most profound forms of meditation," Chosan said.