Sand mandala swept away

Three weeks of painstaking work is undone by Geshe Nyima Dorjee (left) and Geshe Lobsang Dhonye during yesterday’s sand mandala dissolution ceremony at the University of Otago Central Library.

Dhargyey Buddhist Centre co-director Jane Gillespie said the wisdom mandala, created by Buddhist monk Geshe Lobsang Dhonye from crushed marble sand, was swept up and prayers were said.

Some sand was placed in small bags for people to take home and the rest was dispersed in the Water of Leith to be swept out to sea.

"It’s very blessed, and by putting it into the ocean, it blesses the ocean," she said.