Source: The Baltimore Sun

On November 6, 1998, The Baltimore Sun reported that the First International Congress on Tibetan Medicine was held in Washington on the weekend of November 7th. Approximately 1200 Western medical professionals received an intensive introduction to Tibetan medicine. The Dalai Lama opened the event and it concluded with a ceremony around a sand mandala dedicated to the Medicine Buddha. After the mandala was ritually destroyed, it was put into the Potomac River as an "offering of healing powers to the waters." In consonance with the event, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington is showing an exhibit entitled, "The Buddha's Art of Healing: Tibetan Paintings Rediscovered." This exhibit, also with an accompanying book by the same title, is being shown through January 3rd, when it will then travel to other museums in the U.S.