An exhibition of Tibetan art from a Belgian collection, including some beautiful Thangka paintings, can be seen in Palma de Mallorca (Fundació Caixa), from now until February 8th, 2009. 

But even more exciting than the artefacts on the walls and in the vitrines is the visit of two Tibetan monks at the very Caixa exhibition venue, meticulously creating a small Mandala sand painting. The monks prepare for their work by humming and singing Tibetan chants at 11h00 every morning, before they embark on their application of thousands of grains of coloured sand onto the Mandala board. The monks don’t seem to mind us listening to their chanting, and appear to appreciate us watching them doing their painstaking work. Great joy can be had for free, listening and watching.

The finished sand painting is scheduled to be taken to the sea to be swept into the waves of the oceans, at the end of this month.

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The date: October 20th, 2008. The time was 11:19:02.