Laguna Gathers to Honor Dalai Lama’s 90th

Wearing ceremonial hats, five monks chant on Cleo Beach before the dissolution of mandala powdered glass on July 18. (Spencer Grant/LB Indy)

The completed mandala draws a respectful crowd.

Using the Vajra , Ven. Tenzin Thokme Wangdul begins the ritual and wearing a ceremonial hat at the dissolution of the Mandala.

Ven. Tenzin Thokme Wangdul speaks of the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday while gesturing to her portrait.

Ven. Thupten Phuntsok empties a container of Mandala powdered glass into the Cleo Beach surf.

Ven. Kunchok Tenzin, Geshe Choephel Norbu, Ven. Tenzin Thokme Wangdul, Ven. Soepa Gyatso, and Ven. Thupten Phuntsok sweep up the mandala.

Audrey Caldwell at the mandala. (Spencer Grant/LB Indy)

PREVIOUS IMAGE

Image

NEXT IMAGE

By Clara Beard | LB Indy

Residents paid tribute to the 90th birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama with a special celebration at Bridge Hall at the Neighborhood Congregational Church on Saturday, July 6. The event featured important cultural exchanges, traditional Tibetan cuisine, and reflection on the Buddist leader’s life and legacy.

Hosted by the PhenDey Foundation, a Laguna Beach-based nonprofit supporting Tibetans living in exile, the celebration featured a dinner of handmade momos prepared by Tibetan monks from Namgyal Monastery in Dharamshala, India. Attendees also heard presentations from Tibetan scholar and professor Tenzin Dorjee, along with student representatives from Wisdom Spring/Walking for Water of Laguna Beach. The students spoke about humanitarian efforts in Ladakh, India, including a solarpowered well project for nomadic Tibetan communities.

The celebration continued the following week as the Namgyal monks constructed a traditional sand mandala, an intricate, symbolic piece of artwork created from colored sand. The public was invited to watch the process at Bridge Hall from July 7 through 11.

On Saturday, July 12, the monks completed the mandala with a dissolution ceremony, sweeping the sand into a vessel and taking it to the ocean for a symbolic release, a ritual that illustrates impermanence. That evening, a fundraising dinner for the monks and their monastery wrapped up the week’s events, featuring traditional chanting and food.