Guest Columnist: Mark Bennett
The Art of the Possible
Sometimes it is funny how things happen. A chance meeting, an exchanged business card, and a resulting whole new awareness…I met a photographer; when she gave me her card; on her card was a photo of a mandala she had taken in Houston Texas (similar to the one pictured, but not exactly the same). She had several cards, each with a different picture that she had taken (only one with a mandala). The card with the mandala was at the top of the pile, given to me at random.
At the time, I didn’t know what a mandala was; she told me and that prompted a little research. The mandala pictured is a Tibetan Sand Mandala (reproduced with permission from Wikipedia). This mandala was made in the British House of Commons to commemorate a visit from the Dalai Lama in May 2008.
Basically, a mandala is a sand sculpture or painting. The pattern in the photo was painstakingly created on the floor of the British Parliament by several Tibetan monks who use small tubes (almost like thin elongated funnels) and rub another metal object against the tube’s notched surface to create a tiny flow of coloured sand grains (usually finely ground marble of different hues) and thus create the image. The mandala pictured is between about 0.5 to 1.0 metres in diameter and is made of millions of sand grains. Perhaps not surprisingly mandalas are rich with spiritual symbolism and are used by the monks to aid in meditation and prayer. They are sometimes considered spiritual roadmaps of both the cosmos and individual enlightened consciousness. Furthermore, they are believed to promote healing powers (The Dalai Lama arranged for prominent mandalas to be made in Washington, New York and Pennsylvania after the 9-11 terrorist attacks). The intricate design can be contemplated in its entirety or focus can be drawn to its component parts, each with a specific meaning, often multi-layered. It is important to realize that the pattern is retained in the memory of the monks and is reproduced free-hand with no written plan our tools other than chalk (for the outline) and the metal tubes for distributing the sand.
To symbolize impermanence (a central teaching of Buddhism), after days or weeks of creating the intricate pattern and completing the mandala, the sand is brushed together and is usually scattered in a nearby body of running water to spread the blessings of the mandala.
The circle is of fundamental importance and significance to the mandala, just as it is to nature and creation. From the microscopic (red blood cells) to the enormous (the earth, the sun, the cosmos). Interestingly, patterns of circular geometric symmetry are also found in Christianity, First Nations tradition (medicine wheels and dream catchers), Hinduism, indigenous Australian culture, Islam, and Judaism, to name a few. It was also present in our pre-history – Stonehenge.
The link between mandalas and water is a fundamental one. Water covers about 70% of the earth’s surface, and makes up about 70% of our bodies. Water is everywhere and wherever there is water connections are made. Water connects heaven and earth, vapor (spiritual) and solids (physical). Water flows, percolates, drips, surges, breaks, branches, whirls and spins. Solid natural forms are perfect reflections of water’s flow: spirals (the whirlpool), circles (a water drop), waves, folds, splashes and more. Just as water flows, connects and purifies our world, so the mandala flows along its circular curves, manifesting the innermost depths of the Tibetan Monk artists and connecting all aspects of their personality: the physical, the emotional, the spiritual and beyond, up to the eternal circle whose flow is the eternal flow of water in nature.
So apart from the intended blessing conferred upon the receiving running waters, how you may ask, does this connect with the watershed management?
When I look at the pattern I am astonished by the intricacy and detail. Similarly I marvel at the dedication and patience of those who create the mandala. Each mandala represents a tremendous commitment on the part of the Monks who create it (each mandala is drawn with chalk and then finished with the sand completely from the memory by the Monks). Clearly it is an exercise involving intense concentration and focus. Another interesting feature of mandalas is that, like snowflakes, no two can be exactly the same,
Sometimes the work that we do is also very intricate and detailed. Watershed Management can require intense concentration and focus. Watershed Management also necessitates great dedication and often patience. Patience is a tremendous virtue for both water managers and Tibet Monks. We are somewhat like the individual grains of sand, each of us fully develop our importance, when we are in combination with others to generate the final beautiful product. It is the collective that truly generates the beauty. I dare say that for some of us, there is definitely a spiritual connection with water.
I don’t anticipate that this will happen; in fact I hope it doesn’t, but if anyone ever suggests to me that what we are trying to achieve with Watershed Management Planning is impossible, I’m going to think of this mandala…and the Art of the Possible.
Mark Bennett, B.Sc., MPA Executive Director
Concerned about Water? Become Part of the Solution
Mark Bennett enjoys the privilege of being the Executive Director of the Bow River Basin Council and has held the position for the past 9 years. In this role he is blessed by the opportunity to work with great colleagues, both staff and volunteers. Working with the Council offers both challenges and rewards and is never boring.
Mark and his family came to Alberta in 1998 from Winnipeg where he had spent the previous 14 years in Emergency Management, never very far from concerns involving water. Either too little – as in the 1989 Manitoba forest fires emergency; or too much – as in the 1993 summer flooding, the 1996 flood and the Flood of the Century in 1997 on the Red River. As the Emergency Program Coordinator for the City of Winnipeg during the historic flood of 1997, Mark learned a great deal about the value of planning and teamwork. These two skills lend themselves well to the operations of the Bow River Basin Council. Mark also learned that the secret to success is to know what you’re doing and to surround yourself with really good people. He has the latter covered and is always working on the former.
Prior to his Emergency Management work Mark worked for 4 years with Manitoba Environment doing various environmental monitoring projects and was a Hazardous Materials Inspector.
Mark completed his high school education in Ontario and attended Queen’s University, where he received an undergraduate degree in biology. He has both a Certificate in Public Sector Management and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Manitoba. He also held the designation of Certified Emergency Manager from the International Association of Emergency Managers from 1996 to 2007. Mark’s current studies include the pursuit of an Environmental Management Certificate from the University of Calgary and a Non-Profit Management Certificate from Mount Royal College.