Hidden World: Tibetan Sand Mandala

A group of Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery in south India painstakingly builds a sand mandala, a type of ritual artwork. They explain the purpose of its construction, symbolism and ritual dismantling.

The intricate details of this beautiful piece of visual art's construction are shown over the course of several days, concluding with the dismantling puja — a ceremony in which the mandala is destroyed and its sand is scattered in a local body of water to disperse the blessings of the Medicine Buddha. Background of Tibetan culture, and the environmental and human rights impact of the Chinese government's invasion of Tibet are explained in an interview with Geshe Lharampa Lobzang Samdup.