After a final critical review of the sand painting's details, the monks finished the Green Tara mandala the end of Day 5. There was a simple nod, an exchange of smiles, and a quiet gathering of the tools and nearly empty sand supply bowls. On that final day, the monks had laid down a detailed ring of colorful lotus petals for compassion, a ring of thunderbolts for impenetrable protection, and a final ring of fire representing wisdom. Within minutes, a row of red robes faced the Green Tara for a powerful chant over the completed mandala that resonated throughout Library Hall.

The community poured in to see the stunning mandala while it rested in the limelight for nearly an hour before its imminent demolition began. Destruction of the mandala is a call for Green Tara to come out of her castle. It was a poignant demonstration of impermanence, followed by a beautiful water ceremony that sent the mandala down the Yampa River, out to the Colorado River and into the ocean where Green Tara's message of protection, health, happiness, wisdom and abundance can be absorbed into the clouds and deposited again upon the land.

Finally, the destruction of the mandala begins. Rimpoche pinches from the Green Tara at the center, then draws eight directional lines through her mandala palace. Another monk swirls the sand into another form of beauty that renders the mandala unrecognizable.

See the mandala's final day unfold in our close-up time lapse. And watch the community enjoy the final day's mandala progress and demolition in our Day 5 time lapse that captures more of Library Hall.