Six Tibetan Buddhist monks from Gaden Shartse Monastery in southern India concluded their 10-day Compassion Way Durango tour on 21 November with the dissolution of a sand mandala, marking the end of a week of cultural programs, teachings, and community engagement. The series of events drew steady attention from residents of Durango, Colorado, culminating in a final ceremony on the banks of the Animas River. The monks’ visit was part of a wider US tour to share Buddhist philosophy and raise funds for a new school at their monastery.
Gaden Shartse Monastery, affiliated with the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, was re-established in India following the Tibetan diaspora of the late 1950s. Today it serves as a major center for Buddhist education, producing teachers who frequently travel abroad to share Dharma teachings and support monastic education for younger generations. The Durango visit is one such initiative, offering local communities a direct encounter with Tibetan Buddhist ritual, art, and values.
Over the course of their stay in Durango, the monks meticulously constructed a colorful sand mandala, described as a physical manifestation of a prayer for the well-being of all sentient beings. The process, which lasted five days, drew dozens of visitors each day. According to the monks, the mandala represented both a meditative discipline and an expression of compassion, central themes in Buddhist philosophy.
On 21 November, some 50 community members gathered shoulder to shoulder to witness the mandala’s final consecration before its ritual destruction. Ahead of the dissolution, Geshe Phuntsho, one of the monks leading the tour, addressed the assembled group.
“I want you to rejoice,” Geshe Phuntsho said. “Remember this blessing. It will always lift up your energy.” (The Durango Herald)
He continued by offering reflections on meditation and mental cultivation. “Meditation is to humble oneself,” Geshe Phuntsho explained. “Ego, pride and grasping makes us feel like this [life] is such a huge entity, but we are not even a dot in this huge universe. Meditation is the mentality to find peace and happiness in the hugeness.” (The Durango Herald)
The message echoed the central Buddhist teaching of impermanence, embodied in the decision to sweep away the carefully crafted mandala. He told attendees that Buddhist philosophy teaches and creation and dissolution of the mandala underscores the fact that everything is impermanent and subject to loss.
The monks also emphasized the universality of compassion. “Compassion is the universal human religion,” Geshe Phuntsho said. “Whatever you’re faced toward, do your best. Deep down, know that whatever I’m doing, I’m doing the right thing.” (The Durango Herald)
Following the final blessing—marked by chanting, bells, cymbals, and the ringing of a conch shell—the monks swept the mandala into a pile and distributed small bags of the consecrated sand to attendees. A procession then followed the monastic community through downtown Durango to the Ninth Street Bridge.
At the bridge, they released the sand, along with flower petals, into the Animas River. This act, common across Tibetan Buddhist traditions, symbolizes sending the prayers and intentions embodied in the mandala into the wider world. It also memorializes the impermanence of all conditioned things—a concept foundational to Buddhist thought and practice.
The next stop on their tour will be in Joshua Tree, California, where they are scheduled to appear at Yucca Shala, a private event center focusing on healing and spirituality.
See more
Gaden Shartse Buddhist monks complete sand mandala, wrapping up week of events (The Durango Herald)
Monks of Gaden Shartse Monastery Visit Durango for ‘Compassion Way’ Ceremony, November 12–21 (Pagosa Daily Post)
Yucca Shala
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