Every year Bethlehem hosts Musikfest in August.  It’s a 9 day festival of food, fun, and obviously music.  2011 was a terrible year for the festival.  A heavy thunderstorm created a flash flood of the Moravian Creek, which destroyed many of the festival stands in the historic area.  Vendors who were unable to get out quickly watched as muddy water overran the entire area.  This year, it was decided to create a positive blessing of renewal for the area devastated by that event.  The monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery http://drepung.org/ came to town.  During this 4 day visit, their focused concentration was spent creating a sand mandala.  They taught everyone about their philosophy of impermanence.  Many monks spend hours placing grains of colored sand into intricate patterns, only to sweep them away.  I meditated with the monks when they arrived.  Each day, I chronicled their progress.  When there was a thunderstorm that threatened the tent that protected the mandala, I stood with them holding the tent in place.  Thankfully, there was no flood, and the monks peacefully returned to their work.  After 4 full days creating this masterpiece, I watched them sweep the sand into an urn.  Some of the sand was poured into the Monocacy Creek, and some was put in bags for spectators to keep as a remembrance.  I know I will never forget it.