We have launched a website to feature Losang Samten's sand mandalas. http://www.losangsamten.com Here you will find Losang's calendar and details about the sacred sand mandalas.
Losang is currently (Feb-Mar 2008) in Chico, CA creating a Kalachakra Mandala.  Schedule and all the details plus pictures of the Mandala in progress at the Mandala Man website.

Lobsang Samten known to some as Losang Samten,  was born in Ribuce Chang, Tibet in 1953. In 1959, foll o wing the Chinese invasion of Tibet, he escaped with his parents and sister to Dharamsala, India, seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile and residence of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Growing up in Dharamsala, Lobsang first attended the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, then entered Namgyal Monastery. In 1985, Lobsang received the Master of Buddhist Sutra and Tantra degrees, and later became the monastery’s Ritual Dance Master. He also had t he honor of serving His Holiness the Dalai Lama as personal attendant. In 1988 Lobsang came to the United States to dem onstrate the meditative art of sand painting. In 1989 he founded the Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia, and later established other centers El Paso, TX and Hartford, CT. In 1995 Lobsang gave back his monastic vows and entered a lay practitioner’s life. His knowledge and skills contributed to the film Kundun, in which he was employed as religious advisor, master sand painter, and actor. Dedicated to the Dharma, he continues to travel extensively, sharing his vast knowledge of Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and his skill in the Tilbetan ritual arts. Lobsang's ability to incorporate the qualities of practicing loving kindness, patience, and understanding with those he meets has touched the hearts of many.

The History Of the Wheel of Life - At the time of the Shakyamuni Buddha, King Udayana made a present of jeweled armor to the King of Magodha, Bimisaya, who did not have anything of equivalent worth to give in return. Bimisaya was worried about this and asked Buddha what he should do. Buddha indicated that he should have a wheel of cyclic existence 'Sipa Khorlo' to send to King Udayana. It is said that when the king received the picture and meditated, he attained realization (overcame suffering). Since then, this painting is one of the most important mandalas in Buddhism. In Tibet, China, India, Nepal, Mongolia, and all other countries in the Himalaya region in universities, temples, libraries, monasteries, and nunneries, you wiIl see this painting on the wall near the main chapel or just inside the entrance. Through this art, Buddha taught the teaching of the four noble truths and the twelve links of dependent-arising or the theory of reincarnation.

Normally this Wheel of Life mandala is done as a wall or thanka painting. This presentation as a sand painting is uniquely done by Losang Samten. Especially unusual is the three dimensional sand design which can be appreciated by looking across the mandala from eye level. Each artist may present this Wheel of Life differently, but this artist gives a western point of view. In other words, the concept and teachings of the historical painting are 2,600 years old, but here it is presented with a contemporary landscape and three dimensions.

" Cultivating the mind is very much like cultivating a crop. A farmer must know the proper way to prepare the soil, sow the seed, tend to the growth of the crop, and finally harvest it. If all these tasks are done properly, the farmer will reap the best harvest that natures allows. If they're done improperly, an inferior harvest will be produced, regardless of the farmer's hopes and anxieties . . . . Like a good crop, good meditation cannot be forced, and requires cultivation over time."
-- B. Alan Wallace from Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up

For information on Tahoe Dharma events, or to be included on the Tahoe Tibetan Times Mailing List, please contact event co-sponsors Jan and Dave Arnett at 530-525-1900 or arnett@sierra.net

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