I had a chance to test my new camera at the Tibetan Monks presentation of their 5 day live art event in Balboa Park last Sunday ~ Here are some pics to share ..

This is the completed Sand Mandala on the fifth day ~ An hour after I took this picture the Buddhist monks swept away their mandala .. giving it even more meaning as temporary art ~ I felt honored to receive a handful of the colorful mixture of sand from one of the monks from this sacred mandala ~

The event was held at the Natural History Museum ~

Here one of the monks explains to the gathering some of the aspects of Buddhism and the symbols represented in the mandala ~

The closing blessings was deeply felt as the monks chanted and played ancient instruments - blessing each of us and our planet for healing .. an uplifting prayer ~