051211 - Photo shot during the closing ceremony. Pema Wangden sweeps the sand during the "dismantling" ceremony, where it is collected to be released into a body of water. Little baggies were also given to any attendees that wanted one, to take home. Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in south India were in the Atlanta area during the past two weeks as part of the Mystical Arts of Tibet tour, where they performed sacred music and dance, and constructed a sand mandala at the Unity North Atlanta Church in Marietta. During a ceremony after the mandala is completed, the monks dismantle the mandala by sweeping up the colored sands to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists, then ceremonially pour it into a body of water, Lake Cherful in Mountain Park, to disperse the healing energies of the mandala throughout the world. BOB ANDRES/STAFF
