Dalai Day: Your Guide to His Holiness’ Visit

Avalokiteśvara, or “The Lord Who Looks Down” has taken physical form 14 times as the Dalai Lama.

And the current incarnation of the Buddha of Compassion arrived tonight at Fayetteville’s Executive Airport.

Photo courtesy of Mayor Lioneld Jordan's Facebook account

His Holiness has a full day planned. I’ll be there and I hope you will be to. If not, I’ll clue you in to what’s happening.

The Schedule

Wednesday, May 11

9:30 to 11 a.m. – “Turning Swords into Plowshares: The Many Paths of Non-Violence,” a panel discussion with the Dalai Lama, Sister Helen Prejean and Vincent Harding, Bud Walton Arena.

1:30 to 3 p.m. – “Non-Violence in the new Century: The Way Forward,” keynote address by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Bud Walton Arena. Tickets for the keynote address are sold out.

6 p.m. – Tibetan Culture Institute of Arkansas fundraising dinner, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, fellowship hall (located on the corner of East and Dickson in Fayetteville). Cost will be a donation to Tutors for Tibetan Children, a program that provides after school tutors for exiled Tibetan children living in refugee camps in India.

Thursday, May 12

3 p.m. – Mandala closing ceremony, Mullins Library. Monks dismantle the Mandala, sweeping up the colored sands to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists. Half of the sand will be distributed to the audience; the rest will be carried in a procession by the monks, accompanied by the public, to Wilson Park, where it will be poured in Scull Creek, a ceremony meant to disperse the healing energies of the Mandala throughout the world.

Sand Mandala

Photo by Hank Turner

Be sure to make your way over to Mullins Library to check out the sand mandala built to mark the Dalai Lama’s visit. This is the fifth mandala built on campus.

The word “mandala” is Sanskrit for “circle.” These sacred designs are created by hand, grain by grain, using colored sand. Once created, mandalas are believed to be imbued with magical power, and are said to prolong life and protect against evil. Each traditional mandala design invokes a particular sacred offering, or prayer. The monks will construct the Avalokiteshvara or compassion mandala design to commemorate the visit of the Dalai Lama.

Butter Sculpture

Photo courtesy of the University of Arkansas

Also, take some time to check out the traditional butter sculpture designed by Sonam Dhargye in the Walton Reading Room.

Considered a Tibetan high art, butter sculpture is made from mainly butter and other mineral pigments. The size of the sculpture varies from several inches to several feet, covering a variety of subjects including deities, mandalas, flowers, animals and other Buddhist motifs. Traditionally, butter sculptures are displayed on monastery altars and family shrines as sacred offerings.

Other Exhibits

Two other exhibits will also be on display in the Walton Reading Room of Mullins Library. The first will be a display of photographs from Tibet by Sonam Zoksang and photographs of Tibetans in exile in India by Stephen Ironside. The second exhibit will be of ceremonial artifacts from Tibet, along with descriptions of their significance in the Tibetan culture. These exhibits may be viewed all hours the library is open. For a complete schedule, see the library hours.

Christopher Spencer

Christopher Spencer, 36, is the publisher and owner of Ozarks Unbound and the food news site, The Fayetteville Food File. He is the chair of the Fayetteville Creative Economy Action Group and the social media chair of the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He's also the founder of WordCamp Fayetteville. You can always contact him at cspencer@ozarksunbound.com

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