The Sand Mandala is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand.
A sand mandala is ritualistically dismantled once it has been completed and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are finished to symbolize the Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life.
In the show House of Cards on Netflix, Tibetan monks stay at the White House for about one month working on this sand mandala as part of a cultural exchange program.
What other cultural exchanges similar to this have taken place in the White House over the years?
Which countries were they and when did it take place?
A commonly cited example is that Thomas Jefferson hosted the first Iftar (post-fast dinner during the month of Ramadan) in the White House. While the occasion may not have been an iftar in the traditional sense, during the tenure of the ambassador of Tunis at the White House, he did postpone dinner until sunset during Ramadan. The Monticello website has more information: The ambassador stayed for six months and was an interesting addition to the Washington social scene, in addition to his diplomatic mission. His reception in Washington must have been quite satisfactory, as after the ambassador returned to Tunis, the Bey of Tunis sent a friendly letter to Jefferson a year later.
The Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. arranged for the donation of 2,000 cherry blossom trees from Tokyo to Washington D.C. in 1909. Eliza Scidmore, the wife of a former American ambassador to Japan, had been campaigning for such an exchange for over twenty years after her return to the U.S, but the idea only began to catch on after a Department of Agriculture official helped popularise the trees by giving out cuttings from his own cherry blossoms to local schoolchildren.
Sadly the Japanese-donated trees were soon found to be infested with beetles and nematode worms, and President Taft ordered them burned. In 1912, Tokyo made a second donation of 3,000 cherry blossom trees, including 300 rare Gyo-i-ko trees specifically for the White House grounds. Those ones stuck around; Michelle Obama oversaw the centennial celebrations of their planting just a few years ago.
Follow up question, what diplomatic gifts has the us ever given (besides money)? We always hear about what people gave us, not the other way around
