Trinity Cathedral
Mandala Experience

A magnificent confluence of West with East occurred in Sacramento CA when Dean Brian Baker opened the doors of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and invited in two Tibetan Buddhist monks, Geshe Gendun and Venerable Dhondup Tsering, a mandala master trained at Gyuto Tantric College. The mandala table set in the east transept became home, for four days, to the creation of the Medicine Buddha Mandala. This church transept is the location for the Transept Ministry. The Transept Ministers pray with people in need of healing and those who have personal concerns during communion and during Eucharist ceremonies. The stained glass representations of St. Paul, St. Peter and the Holy Trinity, shined on the mandala with rainbow rays of light. How wonderfully fitting to host the Medicine Buddha Mandala here in this space.

The warm-hearted hospitality of the congregation and community who came to experience the healing awe of this spiritual expression was palpable. Most of the people I spoke with shared that this experience was the first sand mandala they had seen. The iridescent sand, colored crushed marble, and the intricacy of layering the sand, building up such precise detail, had many people mesmerized. Especially heartfelt was the interest of the children. From wide-eyed babies to teenagers, all had smiles to share especially with Geshe Gendun whose joyful nature is a living example of Jesus' statement to "come as little children". The community of love and new friends, sharing the Joy of Living, which came together in this blink of a moment, is a lifetime memory of world bridging proportion. Very reminiscent of the feelings I experienced looking out over Llhasa Valley from the rooftop of the Potola Palace during a spiritual pilgrimage to Tibet in 1986.

Blessings BE

Rev. Linda
Turtle Vision Media
Spiritual Correspondent