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SALISBURY, MD---The monks of Tibet’s famed Drepung Loseling Monastery return to Salisbury University this spring to spread their message of peace and understanding.

The monks are in residence Monday-Friday, March 13-17, constructing an elaborate sand mandala which they believe brings purification and healing. The visit, their sixth to SU, comes with the blessings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

During their busy days at the University, the monks will construct their mandala in the Great Hall of Holloway Hall as part of a painstaking ritual during which millions of grains of colored sand are laid out in a complex pattern. The public is invited to view the entire process and participate in part of its ceremonies. Events include:

•    Opening ceremony – Monday, March 13, noon

•    Drawing of the lines – Monday, March 13, 12:30-5 p.m.

•    Mandala construction – Tuesday-Thursday, March 14-16, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Friday, March 17, 10 a.m.-noon.

•    Mandala consecration – Friday, March 17, noon

•    Closing and dispersal ceremony – Friday, March 17, 2 p.m., City Park, Salisbury

As part of its International Dinner Series, University Dining Services presents “A Taste of Tibet” 4:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, in the Commons. The menu includes corn soup, butter chicken, Tibetan curry with beef, rice, curry vegetables with tofu, assorted flatbreads, Himalayan rice pudding with naan bread and coconut, and Tibetan-style cheesecake. Cost is $12.98, $7.87 for children ages 5 and under.

Sponsored by the Cultural Affairs Office and University Dining Services, admission to all other events is free and the public is invited. For more information call 410-543-6271 or visit the ³ÉÈ˶¶Òõwebsite at www.salisbury.edu.