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March 17, 2002 hey, hey, we're the monks Tibetan monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery made a visit to my town spreading a message of love, peace, and "shabby chic" dress.  Their week-long visit began with the start of a Mandala, a circular picture composed of colored sand.  The week ended with a ceremony and a concert. The Mandala was created at a local museum and, like all Mandalas, was designed for a specific purpose.  Our Mandala promoted global healing.  Said one monk through an interpreter, "This is only our second 'global healing' Mandala.  The good people of Three Mile Island seemed to enjoy our first one."  In past years, the monks have also created Mandalas promoting ethnic diversity in Bosnia, fuel efficiency in Detroit, and, of course, "sovereignty and religious freedom" in Lhasa. I went to the museum to view the global healing Mandala.  One monk was putting the finishing touches on the picture while others busied themselves looking holier-than-thou.  Or holier-than-I, at least.  There were some locals who, for my money, looked every bit as pious as the monks.  There were the usual monk groupies from the yoga center, of course.  But I was particularly impressed with an earthy young lady who was seated in a lotus position on the museum floor meditating.  I naturally assumed she was seeking noise and confusion so I tapped her on the shoulder and suggested she try the bus station.  As it turned out, she was meditating in the museum to soak up "good vibes" from both the colored sand and the monks.  If she had kept her eyes open, she'd have seen the monks elbowing each other, rolling their eyes, and whispering in Tibetan, "What's with the hippie chick?  Why doesn't she try the bus station?" In the afternoon, the Mandala was destroyed to symbolize not only the impermanence of life, but the unpredictability of the stock market.  The sand was then poured into our lake which, owing to some rather nasty chemical spills, has itself turned into colored sand. The event concluded with a concert given by the monks at our local college.  They flat-out rocked on Last Train To Clarksville.

©  2002 by the beastmaster