Applying finishing touches to a painstakingly constructed Kalachakra Mandala sand sculpture at the Samstanling monastery in Ladakh. The sculpture takes weeks to complete and is then ritually destroyed in seconds. It marks the “profound affirmation of the impermanence of all things”, especially the human condition. After discussing their monastic order - the Gelugpa, or ‘Yellow Hat Sect’ - the monks were kind enough to let me get pretty close to their work, as long as I didn’t bump into anything.