The Culture of Sand Painting

SAN FIDEL, N.M. – A Tibetan-American scholar named Losang Samten was invited for a third time to San Fidel since 2014 to share the art of sand painting with the community. Here, Samten began his sand mandala using his horn shaped tools inside of St. Joseph Mission School. The school itself is about 100 years old and steeped in history. The sand mandala is a representation of the world and life itself with the slow construction of it over several days or even a few weeks through his surrounding influences, and ends with its eventual deconstruction. No two sand paintings are the same, though specific sand colors and design are what make them authentic. As it was constructed, inspiration was drawn from all around to create the end result while still remaining authentic. Samten even allowed some of the children who attend the school to participate in the creation of the sand painting. At the conclusion, it was then taken apart bit by bit as the children, staff, and others who attended were asked to come and pinch out bits of sand into a cup which would eventually be used to fill small jars that people could take with them once the ceremony was over. It was explained that this is a way of sharing the good that went into making it with all the people around.

Before coming to America, Samten was the personal attendant to the 14th Dalai Lama. He studied for about 20 years at the Namgyal Monastery. This has been the personal monastery of the Dalai Lamas since the second Dalai Lama. This is where Samten learned to make sand mandalas as part of his training. In 1988 he left India to come to America to create the first public sand mandala in the western world. He did so in New York and since then he has been invited all over the United States and beyond, doing well over a thousand sand paintings in the time since.

Samten's home base is located in Philadelphia. If anyone is interested in keeping up with his travels, they can visit his Facebook page titled Losang Samten. He also has a website with more of his background at www.losangsamten.com