They spend two or three years learning the physical part of the art form, many more years studying the spiritual portion.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to spokesperson Gala Rinpoche, they have travelled the U.S. and the world, the hope being to spread a message of world peace one grain of sand at a time.

Making a return visit to Bastyr University in Kenmore, from May 24-28, a group of Tibetan monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in India spent days building, what is to them, a sacred sand mandala, filled with traditionally prescribed iconography that includes geometric shapes and numerous ancient Buddhist spiritual symbols.

The Tibetan word for the art form is “dul-tson-kyil-khor,” literally meaning “mandala of colored powders.”

Using delicate instruments that Rinpoche said make the sand flow like water, the monks built up their most recent mandala on a table in the Bastyr cafeteria, the beginning and end of their work marked by chanting and traditional music.

And after all their painstaking efforts, the resulting mandala was destroyed, swept away, the sand poured into local waters, the monks’ hope and belief being that those waters will spread the positive energy contained in the mandala.

“It stands for positive energy,” Rinpoche said, adding that is probably the easiest way to think of the mandala, which represents a tradition thousands of years old.

Rinpoche and his fellow monks are from the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, also known as “Yellow Hat” monks, working in the same tradition as the famed Dalai Lama. With a base in Atlanta, Ga., to date, the monks — or lamas — have created mandalas in more than 100 museums, art centers and colleges across the country and in Europe.

To create the mandala, each specially trained monk holds a long, tube-like chak-pur in one hand while running a metal rod up and down the chak-pur’s surface, causing the sand inside to flow. Rinpoche noted the monks must not only learn to control the chak-pur and the sands, but also to carefully control their breathing so as not to disturb the sand once it is in place.

“The pouring is not easy,” Rinpoche said, and stating the operation looks delicate, requiring careful concentration, seems an understatement.

Rinpoche objected mildly to questions on the mandalas “design.” The monks believe the mandalas, also known as sacred cosmograms, are, as hinted earlier, infused with spiritual power. Rinpoche talked about an “outer” meaning, that relates to the universe in general, and, an “inner” meaning that relates to the human spirit or mind. And finally, there is a spiritual meaning.

Ultimately, the mandalas are meant to be a path to spiritual enlightenment. Rinpoche said any serious discussion of the meaning of the mandalas would be a very intricate discussion.

“We could talk for five days and still have more to talk about,” he said. But Rinpoche also believes the ultimate message of the mandalas is not lost on American audiences.

“Many people say they have some positive feeling, some peace,” after viewing the mandalas, he added.

Of the monks who visited Bastyr, Rinpoche was one of only a few who speaks English. He noted his name is partly his name and partly his rank or title within the monastery. While peace is a central message of the monks, they also hope to raise money and advertise the plight of their native country.

“We are refugees,” Rinpoche said, adding that while nearly all of the monks were born in Tibet, the Chinese government, which controls Tibet, long has blocked their return. Money raised by the touring monks helps support a Tibetan Buddhist community that numbers about 3,000.

Rinpoche added he is grateful for and sometimes surprised by what he called the positive response of most Americans to the story of the monks.

“People listen very carefully,” he said, stating his order still is hopeful of coming to some compromise with the Chinese government regarding Tibet’s future.

“Many people are ready to help,” Rinpoche said. “That’s really encouraging.”