Lama Tenzin Yignyen returned to Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School (MVPCS), through a donation from the Sound Foundation, to create a sand mandala and teach the students about compassion. Students stopped by Yignyen’s station between classes to talk and make sand designs of their own on a separate table using funnels, like animals and greetings written in colored sand.
MVPCS director Peter Steedman said Yignyen’s accessibility for “kindergarteners all the way to 12th graders” has made his activities “an organic process throughout the day.” Yignyen got to know the students and became “a part of our community,” according to Steedman.
“It’s wonderful,” Steedman said. “His presence just changes the atmosphere in the school in a really positive way and we pride ourselves on having this wonderful, positive, community feel and what he does, he elevates it to a whole different level.”
