CEDAR FALLS -- A centuries-old Tibetan art form will be on display in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center lobby next week.

The spiritual artwork, called a sand mandala, was seen only inside Buddhist monasteries until 1988, when the Dalai Lama allowed the works to be completed in the public. Three monks and a representative from the Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas will begin their work Monday, following an opening ceremony to bless the space. The mandala is a geometric piece of art created with millions of grains of colored sand, ground from white marble, and delicately put into its place with small tubes, funnels and scrapers.

The mandala at the University of Northern Iowa will be of Buddha Akshobhya, the Buddha associated with purification.

Pema Yangchen, a graduate student earning her doctorate in education, first proposed the possibility as a way to give back to the university she said has given her so much. Yangchen originally came to UNI on a one-year Fulbright scholarship and stayed to finish her master's degree and doctorate through a series of graduate tuition scholarships and assistantship stipends from the graduate college.

Her uncle, Geshe Thupten Dorjee, is one of the three monks visiting UNI, yet Yangchen said this will be the first time she will have the opportunity to see a sand mandala construction from beginning to end.

"This is not a common thing that anyone can see anywhere," she said. "It's a unique experience not only for Tibetans, but I think it can be an educational and spiritual experience for people here, too."

According to the cultural institute, Tibetans believe viewing a mandala has a profound influence on those who see it. When the mandala is completed, its creators then destroy the piece in a closing ceremony meant to remind viewers of the impermanence of life. The colored sand is carried to a body of running water where it is released, with a blessing that its fundamental purifications are bestowed on the community and world.

The construction begins at 10 a.m. Monday with an opening ceremony and concludes at 1:30 p.m. April 19 with the destruction and release of the mandala's sand. Guests can see the mandala whenever the GBPAC lobby is open to the public, but work will be done only during the following times: 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and next Friday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

A live Web stream of the mandala construction will be available at www.uni.edu/mandala.

Contact Emily Christensen

at (319) 291-1570

or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.