The Drepung Gomang Monastery of South India plans for eight Tibetan Buddhist monks to share and demonstrate aspects of their endangered culture at the Capitol and the Bob Kirby Branch in a collaboration with the Warren County Public Library next week.

Monks from the monastery visited WCPL in 2018; their return is one stop among many as the monks approach their 16th month touring the U.S, said Anne Walter, the national coordinator for the tour. The event will again feature the dayslong creation of an Interfaith World Peace Sand Mandala – a Tibetan Buddhist art form intended to “generate compassion, demonstrate the impermanence of reality, and bring a sense of healing to a place or to a group of people,” according to the Louisville-based Drepung Gomang Center for Engaging Compassion.

“Our community had just a wonderful time getting to watch and be a part of observing the creation of the sand mandala and being a part of the closing ceremony,” WCPL Youth Services Manager Alexis Erskine said. “We’ve had patrons ask about bringing them back, and we finally had the opportunity to do it and wanted to prioritize that this year.”

There’s a cultural pageant scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at the Capitol featuring an hourlong presentation with little vignettes teaching about Tibetan Buddhist culture, Erskine said. There’ll additionally be a Tashi Shoelpa, meaning “good luck dance,” a performance intended to bless audiences with long life and good health, Walter said.

The monks will also demonstrate a traditional Tibetan Buddhist debate and conduct chants and rituals using traditional Tibetan instruments, Walter added.

The opening ceremony, noon Tuesday at the Bob Kirby Branch, will have a 30-minute introduction on the sand mandala, the monastery’s educational mission, experiences of being Tibetan refugees, and the reasons preserving and practicing their culture and religion is special to them, Erskine said.

People can observe the sand mandala’s creation at the Bob Kirby Branch noon to 7 Tuesday through Friday, Erskine said.

In what’s known as a dissolution ceremony, the monks will sweep up the mandala into a container Saturday and distribute grains in tiny sacks to observers, Walter said. Then, the people may drive to the RiverWalk bridge near the bypass, where monks will ceremonially release the sand into the river, Erskine said.

This, Walter said, celebrates impermanence and an intention to spread world peace.

“We are so passionate about quality-of-life events for all folks in our community, and we are so excited to be able to offer a program that both has specific engaging moments and is open and passive for our community as well,” Erskine said. “I think it’s going to be beautiful what they create, and we’re super excited.”

— David covers education and general assignment for the Daily News via its partnership with Report for America.