Tibetan Monks Make Sand Mandala, Placerville, California, United States

Tibetan Monks from the Tibetan Gaden Shartse Monastery work on a traditional sand painting called a sand mandala at the Cozmic Cafe in Placerville. The mandala is dedicated to Deity Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom. The monks' visit raises funds for their monestary foundation and, they hope, educates locals about Buddhist and Tibetan culture.
The Sand Mandala (Tibetan: དཀྱིལ་འཁོར།; kilkhor) is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. A sand mandala is ritualistically destroyed once it has been completed and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are finished to symbolize the Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life.