Shechen Monastery in Bodhnath, Nepal. At the end of a long drupchen ceremony lasting nine consecutive days and nights, the mandala, drawn in precise detail with different colored sand, is swept up as a symbol of the impermanence of all phenomena. The sand is placed in an urn and carried in procession to be scattered in a nearby river. The procession returns to the monastery courtyard, and the monks walk in single file in the form known as the 'circle of joy' (gakhyil)--resembling the Chinese yin-yang symbol--before going back into the temple for the conclusion. 1992.