MANDALA INTERLUDE

Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery have been here in Oxford on the campus of the University of Mississippi all week. They're here to perform their Mystical Arts of Tibet production, which is tonight, but they've spent the week doing much more. Since Monday, some of the monks have been constructing a mandala sand painting in the Student Union. And according to Kurt, who was in line behind some of the monks at lunch today, they're getting their fill of burgers and Chick-fil-A, too.

Just yesterday, while on a little road trip to Tuscumbia, Alabama, I caught up on some podcasts and happened to catch this one. It's a good listen. And a timely one, too.


I might also add that, oh, about fourteen years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing the Dalai Lama speak in Houston. He made an appearance at the Menil Collection with his buddy Richard Gere, who had a collection of the photogrpahs he'd taken in Tibet on view in one of the galleries. It was a chance-of-a-lifetime event. I left the talk spiritually satisfied and politically motivated--and with Richard Gere's autograph.