Pacific Asia Museum

On Sunday, September 9, admission will be free all day in honor of the monks, and all are welcome to attend the Dissolution Ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Before the ceremony, visitors are encouraged to observe the monks as they complete their work. During this ceremony the mandala is blessed a final time and the grains of sand are swept into a pile, erasing the once-beautiful work of art as a reminder of our own impermanence. Some of the sand is given to those who are present, as a small blessing for their home or gardens. The remainder is taken to the ocean where it is poured into the moving water, which according to Tibetan Buddhist belief blesses all the beings living there, carrying prayers and blessings throughout the world.