Living in Livermore

söndag 29 januari 2012

Back to nowhere

Back to nowhere, a photo by henrikj on Flickr.

I samband med att jag och Åsa gick en profylaxkurs över två dagar i Stockholm passade vi på att lyxa till det lite genom att bo på Nobis Hotel. Själva anser de att de är det bästa hotellet i Sverige men vi har lite svårt att hålla med. Trots att vi blev uppgraderade till ett superiorrum så ligger Villa Anna i Uppsala långt före. Trappan var dock fin och frukosten riktigt god.

söndag 15 januari 2012

Precision

Precision, a photo by henrikj on Flickr.

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We arrived off-season in Leh after crossing the Himalayas on our bicycles. Shops were closing down for the seasons and most tourist had left a few weeks ago. We were almost completely alone when we visited the magnificent Leh Palace. After existing the palace, we noticed a small hand written sign that said "Exhibition on Sand Mandala and Butter Sculpture".

We were naturally intrigued and entered a nearby building. During the past two years, monks of the Chemde Monastery had practiced to make Sand Mandalas and Butter sculptures, as the knowledge of how to make them was rapidly decreasing. A Butter Sculpture is, as the name impedes, a sculpture made of butter. The sculptures can be very elaborate and they often depict scenes and stories from Tibetan Buddhist tradition. A Sand Mandala (http://goo.gl/pqXkd) is a circular drawing, purely made of sand, dedicated to different tantric deities. Once completed, both the Butter Sculpure and the Mandala is destroyed.

Once again, we were very lucky. The exhibition was the final part of the training and this was its last day. During three days, the monks had completed at least twenty small butter scupltures that were displayed on a small altar. In the middle of the room, twelve monks were busy making the final touches to two beautiful sand Mandalas. We sat down and watched, amazed, as the monks added, moved or removed single grains of sand to the Mandalas.