I saw a truly bizarre juxtaposition at lunchtime in one of the big downtown shopping atriums today. A group of Tibetan monks were in town, working intensely on a sand mandala. It's beautiful, and temporary -- after it is completed, the monks sweep it away, a symbol of the impermanence of life. I brought in my digicam and took a pic, although this tiny web-friendly image barely does it justice:

As some of you may know, the NCAA college basketball tournament has just started. College basketball is big here in North Carolina. The atrium always sets up big screen televisions during the ACC and NCAA tournaments so the worker bees can catch some of the basketball games on their lunch hour. The screens are usually set up in the same location where the monks were working. Looks like we have a conflict.

Not to worry, though. The atrium folks thoughtfully solved the problem by putting a bunch of smaller televisions around the opposite side of the atrium from the monks.

So, imagine the scene: to your right, the red-robed monks working painstakingly on their sand mandala, accompanied by the low hum of some recorded chanting. To your left, a half-dozen televisions showcasing college basketball. Personally, I think this shows a lack of respect for what the monks were doing. The atrium's Event Coordinator probably booked the monks in error, before realizing their stay overlapped with the tournament.

I'd be proud to report that the monks got nearly as many spectators as the basketball, but there were no North Carolina teams playing today at lunch time. I can predict a major shift for tomorrow's lunchtime hour when the local team, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, plays NC State University.