Sandbox Kalachakra

by Chad Knueppe Rinpoche

		Outside in the quiet suburban backyard of Anthony and Clara Regis, young Isaac has found the outer reaches of the universe in the sandbox his father has made for him. The sand is warm in young Issac's hands. Isaac likes the cool feel of small pebbles between his toes. Isaac reaches into the tiny earthen rocks like a god reaching into the primal muck. He finds life there, small creatures, ants and other insects. He brings the living things up from the darkness and shows them the light above. Isaac imagines life he can't see, so microscopic that even a god can't touch it. Isaac imagines alien beings and evil monsters that walk the alien terrain of his sandbox when no one is around to see them. He wonders what beasts might prowl the sandbox plane at night. He wonders what animals come there, to dig in the sand for food. He thinks of storybook boogymen and wonders if they bury their victims here. Isaac digs to find lost bones. Like a pirate he digs for treasures unseen. Isaac becomes the archeologist who digs for lost civilizations buried deep beneath the sand. Isaac begins to mold the sand. He shapes rivers. He builds castles. Isaac's castle walls and river motes protect small collected insects from the sandbox without. Isaac is the creator, the protector. Isaac makes this world safe for the life he brings to it. With a swift sweep of small hands across the sandbox Isaac destroys it all.