Two Buddhist monks from India were invited by Dartmouth to create an elaborate sand mandala in four days.

The monks used small tubes to carefully lay colored sand imported from India onto the surface.

The mandala contained religious elements from Tibetan Buddhism.

Before the monks dismantled the mandala, they delivered a traditional prayer.

The mandala's destruction symbolizes impermanence, that even the most beautiful objects meet their end.

The sand of the dismantled mandala was placed in a jar wrapped in traditional silk garments.

Spectators were invited to take some of the sand and place it on their forehead as a blessing.

The monks, followed by a crowd of spectators, made their way across the College Green to Occom Pond.

The monks performed one last prayer before depositing the sand.

A monk poured sand into the frozen pond, symbolizing the sand's return to nature.