{"id":3078,"date":"2012-05-07T21:31:36","date_gmt":"2012-05-08T01:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/?p=3078"},"modified":"2012-05-07T21:31:36","modified_gmt":"2012-05-08T01:31:36","slug":"impermanence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html","title":{"rendered":"Impermanence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Although I am not a\u00a0practicing Buddhist, I have several friends who are and whose example serve as guides for me to live a life in harmony with love and compassion.\u00a0One such friend is Greg Schultz (a nice Jewish boy who\u00a0took his Buddhist vows several years ago). He was\u00a0also the\u00a0yenta (matchmaker) who opened the door to my interview with His Holiness the Dalai Lama back in 2008.\u00a0 For many years, Greg\u00a0has\u00a0brought in a group of monks from the Drepung Gomang monastery in India. These men are gifted in the art of chanting and the creation of a circular work of art called a\u00a0mandala. Each one is embued with prayers for\u00a0 such lofty concepts as healing, love, compassion and enlightenment; but made from matter. They are comprised of tiny grains of colored sand that are meticulously placed in the intricate design. I have witnessed several being constructed. The one pictured above was created this past week at Sun Dog Yoga in Doylestown, PA. The monks spent several days in prayer as they created magic. Once the mandala is complete, it is then deconstructed with the sand pushed into a pile. The once rainbow-hued image becomes a mish mosh of non-descript gray sand. Some of it is placed in a body of water, so\u00a0to bless it\u00a0and the rest put in baggies for folks to take home with them. The practical side of me thought to ask how the monks manage to spend days bent over the pattern on the floor. “Don’t their backs hurt?”, I asked my friend Kathy Sweeney who was hosting the monks during their stay in the area this time around.\u00a0 “They get chiropratic work done by Mahan Rishi Singh Khalsa.”, she answered. He is a friend of ours who is an American born Sikh.<\/p>\n

The Buddhist concept of impermanence\u00a0 comes into play here, since nothing lasts in the form it was once in. A few years ago, when I was first introduced to the monks and their artistic gifts, it occurred to me that just like that colorless sand at the end, was no less once that gloriously colored medium, so too when we are ‘deconstructed’ at the end of our lives, are we no less the beautiful creations we were born to be. Om Shanti~<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

www.gomang.org<\/a><\/p>\n

www.sundogyogastudio.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

http:\/\/youtu.be\/10084L3Pqsc<\/a>\u00a0Construction and Destruction of a Mandala<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although I am not a\u00a0practicing Buddhist, I have several friends who are and whose example serve as guides for me to live a life in harmony with love and compassion.\u00a0One such friend is Greg Schultz (a nice Jewish boy who\u00a0took his Buddhist vows several years ago). He was\u00a0also the\u00a0yenta (matchmaker) who opened the door to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,36,1,2,70,33,19,21,3,22,4,54,30,32,10],"tags":[1743,212,1740,320,1742,399,1744,1741],"class_list":["post-3078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-affirmations","category-art","category-attracting-what-you-desire","category-bliss","category-community","category-creativity","category-empowerment","category-energy","category-gratitude","category-healing","category-inspiration","category-interfaith","category-love","category-sharing-their-bliss","category-spirituality","tag-buddhist","tag-doylestown","tag-drepung-gomang-monastery","tag-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama","tag-mahan-rishi-singh-khalsa","tag-pa","tag-sikh","tag-sun-dog-yoga"],"yoast_head":"\nImpermanence - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Impermanence - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Although I am not a\u00a0practicing Buddhist, I have several friends who are and whose example serve as guides for me to live a life in harmony with love and compassion.\u00a0One such friend is Greg Schultz (a nice Jewish boy who\u00a0took his Buddhist vows several years ago). He was\u00a0also the\u00a0yenta (matchmaker) who opened the door to…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-08T01:31:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2012\/05\/mandala4-225x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EdieWeinstein1\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Impermanence - The Bliss Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Impermanence - The Bliss Blog","og_description":"Although I am not a\u00a0practicing Buddhist, I have several friends who are and whose example serve as guides for me to live a life in harmony with love and compassion.\u00a0One such friend is Greg Schultz (a nice Jewish boy who\u00a0took his Buddhist vows several years ago). He was\u00a0also the\u00a0yenta (matchmaker) who opened the door to…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html","og_site_name":"The Bliss Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga","article_published_time":"2012-05-08T01:31:36+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2012\/05\/mandala4-225x300.jpg"}],"author":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EdieWeinstein1","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html","name":"Impermanence - The Bliss Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2012\/05\/mandala4-225x300.jpg","datePublished":"2012-05-08T01:31:36+00:00","dateModified":"2012-05-08T01:31:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/edcd643a643a9ca91adb1e8f9e177386"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2012\/05\/mandala4-225x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2012\/05\/mandala4-225x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/impermanence.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Impermanence"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/","name":"The Bliss Blog","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Edie Weinstein","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/edcd643a643a9ca91adb1e8f9e177386","name":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0d6\/0d6cd7619da51a9a40cc705280e88f9cx96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0d6\/0d6cd7619da51a9a40cc705280e88f9cx96.jpg","caption":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW"},"description":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW is a colorfully creative journalist, inspiring transformational speaker, licensed social worker, interfaith minister, editor, radio host, BLISS coach, event producer, Cosmic Concierge, the author of The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming The Ordinary Into The Extraordinary and co-author of Embraced By the Divine: The Emerging Woman\u2019s Gateway to Power, Passion and Purpose. She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. Edie is the founder of Hug Mobsters Armed With Love, which offers FREE HUGS events on a planned and spontaneous basis. www.opti-mystical.com.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.opti-mystical.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga","https:\/\/x.com\/EdieWeinstein1"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/author\/eweinstein"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3078"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3087,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3078\/revisions\/3087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}