Blog #8: How About Burning your next Masterpiece?

At Big Walnut University, we matriculate through an entire unit on Buddhism. But at BWU, we try to experience a unit, not just read and take notes. One way to do this is to engage in art. Buddhist are famous for crafting inspiring mandalas. Here’s a captivating 2 minute clip on monks creating a mandala:

Here’s the way to construct a paper mandala:

  1. Take a perfectly square paper and folded it into 8 pie-shaped sections.

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  1. Create a cool design in one of the sections.

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  1. Fold the paper, place it on a window or light box, and recreate the image in the 7 remaining sections.

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  1. Here’s some examples from last fall. But in the spirit of Buddhism, we promptly took them out in the parking lot and torched them!a2012762-3c01-4699-8ae8-e3041920796a
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Why, you may ask, would one do such a thing? The answer lies in attachment. Buddhism is all about letting go. That’s a tough concept to grasp when you’re a youthful 17-years-old. Burning these beautiful works of art could have a profound impact on you. Regardless, I have no doubt you’ll remember this assignment and the message about attachment for the rest of your life!

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Blog #9 Instructions: (20 Points)

  • Create a beautiful mandala. Snap a picture of it and post it on your blog.
  • Write a paragraph which describes your emotions creating and then destroying your artistic offspring!

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