A rhythmic humming of metal on metal filled Heartspace Yoga and Meditation in Scranton as Tibetan Monks made a mandala out of colorful crushed marble.
The six monks from the Gaden Shartse Monastery in India used chakpurs — metal funnels with ridges — to fill in the lines of the perfectly symmetrical mandala.
Mandalas in Buddhism represent a pathway to the divine. The symbol will take the monks around 400 hours to create.
On Sunday it will be destroyed.
"Dissolutions of this mandala … represent about the impermanence of a life, like also to mostly to reflect within our life,” said Geshe Phuntsho. “Because we have this beautiful life, but we cannot just let it go, like, make use of this life.”
IF YOU GO
The Mandala Dissolution Ceremony is Sunday at 6 p.m. at Heartspace Yoga & Meditation, 4 Meadow Ave., Suite B, Scranton.
For a full list of events, visit NEPA Sacred Art of Tibet Tour - Spring/Summer 2025 on Facebook or sacredartsoftibettour.org.
The monks are on a tour of Northeast Pennsylvania until July 23. They are providing healing rituals, lectures and home and business blessings as well as group ceremonies.
Their visit began on Wednesday with creating the mandala.
Phuntsho met Melissa Russo around 2006.
"Since then, we've been coming back and forth here ... people been always, you know, welcoming us. And … been kind and generous for our monastery,” he said.
Russo is an NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) practitioner who splits her time between Pennsylvania and Colorado. She met Phuntsho during a seven-day event with the Dalai Lama in the Lehigh Valley. Russo gave Phuntsho rides to and from the hotel they were staying at. They often hit traffic.
"I had the opportunity to ask him questions that were so on my mind, and every time I asked him very deep questions, he had the perfect answer in a few sentences," she said.
They giggled a lot and became good friends. Russo first set him up to visit local yoga studios. Then he toured with monks who were able to perform rituals, ceremonies and healings for the people in Northeast Pennsylvania.
A deeper understanding
The monks have lived in a refugee camp in Southern India since the People’s Republic of China took over Tibet in the 1950s. The mandalas are typically made of crushed gems but now, crushed marble is more accessible.
Natural dye turns the grains vibrant red, green and yellow. They use 35 different colors, which represent the 35 confession Buddhas, whose names are recited during a purification ritual.
In Buddhist lore, Buddha ascended to heaven to give a teaching to gods and goddesses, which included his mother. Phuntsho said it was to liberate them from the cycle of death.
The monks worked on a Mandala of the White Parasol, which represents that story.
“We know that … we have this precious opportunity, don't procrastinate, because life is impermanent, and this is real opportunity," said Phuntsho. "So when we have this, such a real, precious opportunity, then make use of it, otherwise it will be gone one day.”
Each time is important
Russo hopes people deepen their understanding of Buddhism and find more and hope and peace from the monks’ visit.
"I know the world seems absolutely crazy right now ... So we could be focused on all the horrible news going on in the world, or we could be focused on what they're teaching us, compassion, empathy, appreciation, gratitude, connection," she said, "and it doesn't matter what religion or beliefs anyone has, I feel like the messages and the tools and the teachings that they have will support anyone's heart, really, especially in these very polarizing times.”
Phuntsho said Buddhism is a universal religion. They celebrate every day as a precious day.
"I have been coming to America for last almost 25 years, since 2001, and each time I am here it was important," he said.
The monks are on a tour of the United States. Like Russo, Phuntsho hopes those in the Scranton area take away their message of peace.
"This is to help us to grow individually, to be grounded, to stay calm, be patient, be more absorbed into yourself and try to grow more loving and compassion or kindness or gratitude, because right now, we don't do that," he said. "We only try to blame others, and when you blame others, we're equally responsible what's happening around so that's what I see, that our message is look at within ourselves and try to create that beauty inside.”
