January 1-14  //  El Dorado County

The Tibetan monks of Gaden Shartse Monastery returned to the foothills for their 14th annual visit that included the construction of the Manjushri sand mandala—an ancient and sacred Tibetan art form crafted from grains of sand—at the Diamond Springs Center of Healing Arts. Visitors were able to watch the daily progress on the mandala, and attend workshops, ceremonies, rituals, and talks. Additional events included a traditional Tibetan dinner and “dissolution ceremony” during which the mandala was ritually swept up into a pile of sand, demonstrating the impermanent and ever-changing nature of the world and our lives. All funds raised during this two-year tour of the U.S. support the 1,400 monks at their “monastery-in-exile” in India and the surrounding Tibetan refugee community.

1  El Dorado County District 3 Supervisor Brian Veerkamp, wife Lori, and daughter Rashelle receive the traditional ceremonial white “khata” from the Tibetan monks  2  Tenzin Lungtok and Wendy Wood   3  Tenzin Lungtok and Geshe Laden  4  Members of the Placerville Friends of Tibet coordinating group: Wendy Guglieri, Carolyn Wells, Jeannie Marie Chesko, and Lyn McClure  5  Geshe Laden 
6  Finnegan Loarie  7  Dissolution Ceremony 

Photos by Tripp Mikich, Jeri Murphy, and Gloria Maldonado