Tibetan Buddhist Sand Mandala
Witness the creation of a Tibetan Buddhist sand mandala
November 10–14, 2025 | 10 AM – 4 PM
In collaboration with the Nealis Program in Asian Studies, the Frances M. Maguire Art Museum is proud to announce its first permanent Gallery of Asian Art. Opening to the public on November 10, 2025, the gallery features Edo-period and 20th-century Japanese woodblock prints, a Chinese Qing-dynasty ancestor portrait, Tibetan Buddhist thangka paintings, Indonesian shadow puppets, Mughal court paintings, and 19th-century South Asian portrait miniatures. Among its highlights is a traditional altar installation for a statue of Nezha, the Third Prince—a Chinese protective deity with roots in ancient Indian religions—carved and consecrated on Saint Joseph’s Hawk Hill campus by renowned Taiwanese statue artist Chen Zongwei during his 2023 residency.
As part of the opening celebrations, Venerable Lama Losang Samten will spend the week at the Maguire Museum creating a sand mandala in the Great Hall. Visitors are welcome to watch him work each day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. On Friday, November 14, from 12:30 - 2:30 we will have the opening reception of the gallery which includes the ceremonial sweeping away of the mandala—a ritual gesture that embodies the central Buddhist principle of impermanence. We invite students, faculty, and community members to join us in celebrating an inspiring week of Asian art at the Maguire.
The Gallery of Asian Art and associated programming is generously sponsored by the Nealis Program in Asian Studies.
Venerable Losang Samten has been sharing teachings of loving-kindness, joy and compassion, as well as the path to enlightenment for almost 30 years. He is the spiritual director of several Buddhist Centers in North America, including the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia, of which he is also a founder. Losang lived and studied over 20 years in the Namgyal Monastery and is a Master of Sand Mandalas. He is one of the Mandala Masters who created the first public sand mandala in the West in 1988. Learn more about Ven. Losang Samten here.
Ven. Losang Samten creates sacred sand mandalas that follow the ancient Buddhist tradition. These have been created in museums, universities, schools, community centers, and galleries throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. The creation and dismantling of Tibetan sand mandalas is a practice intended to uplift and benefit not only every person who sees it, but also to bless the environment. Learn more about sand mandalas here.
Questions? Email jallen3@sju.edu.