After photographing the same sand mandala ritual for twenty years, I have come to realize that we are the very vessels of the obstacles Vajrakilaya seeks to destroy. This internal battle feels ancient, perhaps intrinsic to our existence. It makes me wonder: is this sand palace merely a map of the cosmos, or is it a tool left by the enlightened to help us tame our own demons? The mandala depicts a universe of forces, but the struggle it resolves is distinctively human. In the end, I suspect the mandala is not a window into the heavens, but a mirror held up to ourselves.
sacred sand
