Bucks County Community College invites the public to a Tibetan Buddhist Monk Residency, Sand Mandala and Cultural Showcase on Sept. 16-20 at the college’s Newtown campus.
Tibetan monks from the Drepung Gomang monastery in India will create a large sand mandala sculpture in the Solarium room in the Rollins Center from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., from Monday to Thursday that week. Handmade crafts will be available for a donation.
There will also be a Cultural Showcase on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m., featuring temple instruments and richly-costumed song and dance. The free performance takes place in the Zlock Performing Arts Center, located inside the Gateway Center building. Although admission is free, attendees are encouraged to register for free tickets at bucks.edu/tickets.
A closing ceremony, during which the sand mandala will be carefully swept up during prayerful meditation, begins at noon on Friday, Sept. 20 in the Solarium. The monks will gather the sand and walk to Tyler State Park, located behind the campus, to scatter the sand into the Neshaminy Creek.
This is the third time the college has hosted a residency by the Tibetan Buddhist Monks. Their last visits were in 2002 and 2016.
All events are free and open to the public. The Tibetan Buddhist Monk Residency is brought to the public by the Bucks County Community College Cultural Programming Committee. The campus is located at 275 Swamp Road, Newtown, where there is ample free parking. For more information, visit bucks.edu/live or call 215-968-8087.
