Tibetan Buddhist monk Tenzin Samten strips petals from flowers to be used in a dissolution ceremony for "The Compassionate Sand Mandala for World Peace" at the National Cathedral in Washington October 18, 2007. The monks are from the Dalai Lama's personal Namgyal Monastery, and created the sacred mandala over three days to coincide with the Dalai Lama's visit to Washington. The mandala represents a Buddha's divine place of residence and its creation and destruction is to symbolize the Buddhist concept of the impermanence of things and the importance of non-attachment. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)