Monks finish mandala and hold closing ceremony at Randolph College

It took more than 30 hours of painstaking, back-breaking labor to create the beautiful sand mandala in the Randolph College chapel, and only a few minutes to destroy it.


Friday afternoon, the monks of Tashi Kyil monastery, in Dehra, Dun, India, conducted a closing ceremony with more than 150 people present.

In chanting and music similar to the opening ceremony (available in video here), they consecrated the mandala and prayed for permission to dismantle it. Then they slowly wiped their hands across the 5' x 5' surface.

Soon, there was nothing left but a blue board with pale colored sand left on it.

The monks swept the sand into a bowl, and passed some of it out in individual bags to people who were present. The sand is said to have healing powers.

Then they walked across campus to a wooded creek that empties into the James River. There, they poured most of the remaining sand into the water. According to Buddhist philosophy, doing this can bless animals in the water and also carry the healing powers of the mandala sand throughout the world.

They kept some sand to carry to the AIDS Walk in Washington, D.C., the next stop on their journey.

Throughout this week, the monks have worked tirelessly in the chapel, lived in one of the College's dorms, interacted with students and community members, explained their beliefs, and sold Tibetan goods to raise money for their monastery. People of various religious traditions marveled at their dedication to create a beautiful work of art with religious significance.

In one week, they became a part of the College community, and they will not be forgotten.

Kissing the horse for United Way

Randolph College's Kiss the Horse fundraiser ended with an epic equine smooch and a donation to United Way of Central Virginia on Friday afternoon.

Tina Barnes, coordinator of disability services and the Learning Strategies Program, was given the honor of kissing Rex, one of the horses from the Randolph College Riding Center.

All this week, Randolph College community members have voted to select a staff member or professor to kiss the horse. They placed votes by placing money in the jar for their favored contestant.

The contest raised $211.74, which will benefit United Way of Central Virginia and its partner agencies, which provide education, health care, food, and other necessities to people in need in the Lynchburg area.

Events at Randolph College to examine Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers

Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson's retreat home near Lynchburg, is one example of his love for architecture and agriculture.

Two lectures this week will highlight how Thomas Jefferson influenced early America, beyond penning the Declaration of Independence and serving as president.

Jefferson scholar Richard Guy Wilkins will expound how Jefferson shaped Virginia architecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in room 537 of the H. G. Leggett building.

Design historian and author Andrea Wulf will then discuss the gardens of Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, in Wimberly Recital Hall (Presser Hall).

Architecture and gardening were important to Jefferson, who even intermingled the two in his building and landscape designs, said Leanne Zalewski, a Randolph College art professor who coordinated Wilkins’ lecture.

“He believed that architecture would help civilize our new nation,” Zalewski said.
Wilkins, the Commonwealth Professor and chair in the Department of Architectural History, at the University of Virginia, will speak about “Thomas Jefferson and the Making of Virginia Architecture.”

Jefferson left his stamp on Virginia architecture by combining features of masterful designs from France, Italy, Greece, and other European countries, Zalewski said. Those influences can be seen in Monticello, the University of Virginia, the state capital, and Poplar Forest, Jefferson’s retreat home just a few miles from the Randolph campus, and other local buildings that mimicked Jefferson’s style.

Andrea Wulf will speak at Randolph College Thursday, Nov. 3.

On Thursday, Wulf will speak about her book, “Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation.” She will discuss Jefferson’s gardens and landscapes, along with those of other Founding Fathers, such as George Washington, John Adams, and James Madison.

Their attitude toward gardening, plans, nature, and agriculture helped shape the new nation. Wulf will guide the audience through this retelling of America’s founding using beautiful illustrations.

Zalewski said agriculture played a significant role in Jefferson’s architecture, especially at Poplar Forest and Monticello, his homes.

Wilkins’ lecture on Wednesday and free open to the public.

Tickets to the Founding Gardeners event on Thursday can be purchased for $20 online at Poplar Forest’s events page or by calling the Poplar Forest Museum Shop at (434)534-8120. Randolph College students, faculty, and staff can attend for free by showing their campus ID.

Monks make time for Randolph's preschoolers

Several of the Tibetan monks visiting Randolph's campus this week took time out to meet preschoolers from the College's Nursery School. The monks were putting the final touches on a Medicine Buddha mandala when the preschoolers arrived for a short visit. After watching the monks, the children entertained the visitors with a rehearsal for their upcoming Halloween concert.

Seven monks from the Tashi Kyil Monastery have spent the week creating the sand mandala in the College's chapel. They have worked from 10 a.m until 7 p.m. each day, painstakingly placing millions of grains of colored sand. The monks chose the rocks, smashed and pounded them into sand and colored them while at their monastery in India.

The monks are from Tashikyl, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Dehra Dun, India. A Buddhist cultural center in Indiana is hosting them for a tour of the United States The monks, who are from a monastery in Dehra, Dun, India, are on the last leg of a U.S. tour designed to share the Tibetan culture, promote peace, and raise much needed funds for their monastery. Their next stop is in Washington, D.C.

Trick-or-treat: Students will collect canned food on Halloween

Some Randolph College students will go trick-or-treating this Halloween, but they won’t be asking for candy.

Instead, the group will knock on doors in the Rivermont and Boonsboro area and ask for canned food for area nonprofits that serve the poor.

The College’s chapter of the Student Virginia Education Association is organizing the effort, but all students are welcome to help.

The group will meet in the Main Hall lobby at 6:30 p.m. Monday, wearing Randolph College T-shirts.

Their food gathering will be focused along Rivermont Avenue and the V.E.S. Road area.

After Halloween, they will organize the canned goods and deliver them to local groups that distribute food to people in need, including Daily Bread and the Salvation Army.

“We knew Thanksgiving was coming up, and collecting food would help, said Rachel Reid, co-president of Randolph College’s SVEA chapter and a graduate student at the College.

SVEA is a pre-professional association for future teachers in Virginia.

Tibetan Monks close week at Randolph with special ceremony

The Buddhist monks visiting Randolph's campus this week will finish their sand medicine mandala today. The closing ceremony is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in Houston Memorial Chapel. The monks, who are from a monastery in Dehra, Dun, India, are on the last leg of a U.S. tour designed to share the Tibetan culture, promote peace, and raise much needed funds for their monastery.

See local media stories here:

http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2011/oct/27/buddhist-monks-work-complete-medicine-mandala-rand-ar-1416292/

http://www.wset.com/story/15862287/buddhist-monks-create-mandala

Who will kiss the horse?

LYNCHBURG—One Randolph College professor or staff member will have the honors of kissing a horse Friday, October 28 as part of the College’s United Way of Central Virginia fundraising campaign. At 2:45 p.m., one of three contestants will be deemed the winner of the equine smooch off and will kiss one of the horses from the Riding Center.

The big kiss will take place in front of Main Hall.

All week, Randolph community members have voted by placing donations in the jar of their favorite contestant. The professor or staff member earning the most money will win the honors. All of the money raised will benefit the United Way of Central Virginia.

The contestants include Bill Mattson, a chemistry professor, Kim Sheldon, director of student success, and Tina Barnes, coordinator of disability services and the Learning Strategies Program.