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''For the film, see [[Mandala (film)''
''For the film, see [[Mandala (film)]]''
[[Image: Mandala gross.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Buddhist mandala]]
[[Image: Mandala gross.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Buddhist mandala]]
''Mandala''' ([[Sanskrit]] ''{{IAST|maṇḍala}}'' "circle", "completion") is a term used to refer to various objects. It is of [[Hinduism|Hindu]] origin, but is also used in other [[Dharmic religions]], such as [[Buddhism]]. In the [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan]] branch of [[Vajrayana]] Buddhism, they have been developed into [[sandpainting]]. In practice, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the [[cosmos]] metaphysically or symbolically, a [[Macrocosm and microcosm|microcosm]] of the [[universe]] from the human perspective.
''Mandala''' ([[Sanskrit]] ''{{IAST|maṇḍala}}'' "circle", "completion") is a term used to refer to various objects. It is of [[Hinduism|Hindu]] origin, but is also used in other [[Dharmic religions]], such as [[Buddhism]]. In the [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan]] branch of [[Vajrayana]] Buddhism, they have been developed into [[sandpainting]]. In practice, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the [[cosmos]] metaphysically or symbolically, a [[Macrocosm and microcosm|microcosm]] of the [[universe]] from the human perspective.

Revision as of 16:38, 10 July 2007

For the film, see Mandala (film)

Buddhist mandala

Mandala' (Sanskrit maṇḍala "circle", "completion") is a term used to refer to various objects. It is of Hindu origin, but is also used in other Dharmic religions, such as Buddhism. In the Tibetan branch of Vajrayana Buddhism, they have been developed into sandpainting. In practice, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically, a microcosm of the universe from the human perspective.

In the various spiritual traditions, the mandala is frequently used as an object for focusing attention and as an aid to meditation. Its symbolic nature can help one "to access progressively deeper levels of the unconscious, ultimately assisting the meditator to experience a mystical sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which the cosmos in all its manifold forms arises." [1] The Psychiatrist Carl Jung saw the mandala as "a representation of the unconscious self," [2] and believed his paintings of mandalas enabled him to identify emotional disorders and work towards wholeness in personality. [3]

Mandala in Hinduism

A Hindu temple's ground floor plan often takes the form of a mandala symbolizing the universe. The lotus is sacred not only because it transcends the darkness of the water and mud where its roots are, but also because of its perfectly symmetrical mandala.[4]

Mandala in Vajrayana Buddhism

Tibetan Vajrayana

File:Sand mandala tibet 1.JPG
Tibetan monks making a temporary "Sand-Mandala" in the City-Hall of Kitzbühel in Austria in 2002
File:Sand mandala tibet 2.jpg
Details of Sand-Mandala

A kyil khor (Tibetan for mandala) in tantric Buddhism usually depicts a landscape of the Buddha land or the enlightened vision of a Buddha (which are inevitably identified with and represent the nature of experience and the intricacies of both the enlightened and confused mind): "a microcosm representing various divine powers at work in the universe." [5] Such mandalas consist of an outer circular mandala and an inner square (or sometimes circular) mandala with an ornately decorated mandala palace [6] placed at the center. Any part of the inner mandala can be occupied by Buddhist glyphs and symbols [7] as well as images of its associated deities, which "symbolise different stages in the process of the realisation of the truth." [8] Mandalas are commonly used by tantric Buddhists as an aid to meditation. More specifically, a Buddhist mandala is envisaged as a "sacred space," [9] a Pure Buddha Realm [10] and also as an abode of fully realised beings or deities. [11] While on the one hand, it is regarded as a place separated and protected from the ever-changing and impure outer world of Samsara, [12] and is thus seen as a Buddhafield [13] or a place of Nirvana and peace, the view of vajrayana Buddhism sees the greatest protection from samsara being the power to see samsaric confusion as the "shadow" of purity (which then points towards it). By visualizing purelands, one learns to understand experience itself as pure, and the abode of enlightenment. The protection we need, in this view, is from our own minds, as much as from external sources of confusion. In many tantric mandalas, this aspect of separation and protection from the outer samsaric world is depicted by "the four outer circles: the purifying fire of wisdom, the vajra circle, the circle with the eight tombs, the lotus circle." [14] The ring of vajras forms a connected fence-like arrangement running around the perimeter of the outer mandala circle [15] The mandala is also "a support for the meditating person," [16] something to be repeatedly contemplated, to the point of saturation, such that the image of the mandala becomes fully internalised in even the minutest detail and which can then be summoned and contemplated at will as a clear and vivid visualised image. With every mandala comes what Tucci calls "its associated liturgy...contained in texts known as tantras," [17] instructing practitioners on how the mandala should be drawn, built and visualised and indicating the mantras to be recited during its ritual use.

The photograph at right is a good example of a Tibetan sand mandala.[18] This pattern is painstakingly created on the temple floor by several monks who use small tubes and rub another metal object against the tube's notched surface to create a tiny flow of grains.[19] The various aspects of the traditionally fixed design represent symbolically the objects of worship and contemplation of the Tibetan Buddhist cosmology.

To symbolize impermanence (a central teaching of Buddhism), after days or weeks of creating the intricate pattern, the sand is brushed together and is usually placed in a body of running water to spread the blessings of the Mandala.

The visualization and concretization of the mandala concept is one of the most significant contributions of Buddhism to religious psychology. Mandalas are seen as sacred places which, by their very presence in the world, remind a viewer of the immanence of sanctity in the universe and its potential in his or her self. In the context of the Buddhist path the purpose of a mandala is to put an end to human suffering, to attain enlightenment and to attain a correct view of Reality. It is a means to discover divinity by the realization that it resides within one's own self.

A mandala can also represent the entire universe, which is traditionally depicted with Mount Meru as the axis mundi in the center, surrounded by the continents. A 'mandala offering' [20] in Tibetan Buddhism is a symbolic offering of the entire universe. Every intricate detail of these mandalas is fixed in the tradition and has specific symbolic meanings, often on more than one level.

The mandala can be shown to represent in visual form the core essence of the vajrayana teachings. In the mandala, the outer circle of fire usually symbolises wisdom. The ring of 8 charnel grounds[21] probably represent the Buddhist exhortation to always be mindful of death and impermanence with which samsara is suffused: "such locations were utilized in order to confront and to realize the transient nature of life."[22] Described elsewhere thus: "within a flaming rainbow nimbus and encircled by a black ring of dorjes, the major outer ring depicts the eight great charnel grounds, to emphasize the dangerous nature of human life."[23] Inside these rings lie the walls of the mandala palace itself, specifically a place populated by deities and Buddhas.

One well-known type of mandala in Japan is the mandala of the "Five Buddhas", archetypal Buddha forms embodying various aspects of enlightenment, the Buddhas are depicted depending on the school of Buddhism and even the specific purpose of the mandala. A common mandala of this type is that of the Five Wisdom Buddhas (a.k.a. Five Jinas), the Buddhas Vairocana, Aksobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi. When paired with another mandala depicting the Five Wisdom Kings, this forms the Mandala of the Two Realms.

Mandala offering

Whereas the above mandala represents the pure surroundings of a Buddha, this mandala represents the ordinary universe. This type of mandala is used for the mandala-offerings, during which one symbolically offers the universe to the Buddhas or one's teacher for example. Within Vajrayana practice, 100,000 of these mandala offerings (to create merit) can be part of the preliminary practices before a student can begin with actual tantric practices.[24] This mandala is generally structured according to the model of the universe as taught in a Buddhist classic text the Abhidharmakosha, with Mount Meru at the center, surrounded by the continents, oceans and mountains etc.

Mandala in Shingon Buddhism

The Japanese branch of Vajrayana Buddhism, or Shingon Buddhism, makes frequent use of mandalas in their rituals as well, though the actual mandalas differ. When Shingon's founder, Kukai returned from his training in China, he brought back two mandalas that became central to Shingon ritual: the Mandala of the Womb Realm and the Mandala of the Diamond Realm.

These two mandalas are used, among other things, in the abhiseka initiation rituals used for new Shingon students. A common feature in this ritual is to blindfold the new initiate, and have them throw a flower upon either mandala. Where the flower lands helps dictate which Buddhist figure the initiate should devote himself to.

Sand Mandalas, as found in Tibetan Buddhism, are not practiced in Shingon Buddhism.

Mandalas in Other Buddhist Schools

Mandala in Nichiren Buddhism

The mandala in Nichiren Buddhism is called a moji-mandala (文字漫荼羅) and is a hanging paper scroll or wooden tablet whose inscription consists of Chinese characters and medieval-Sanskrit script representing elements of the Buddha's enlightenment, protective Buddhist deities and certain Buddhist concepts. Called the Gohonzon, it was originally inscribed by Nichiren, the founder of this branch of Japanese Buddhism, during the late 13th century. The Gohonzon is the primary object of veneration in some Nichiren schools and the only one in others, which consider it to be the supreme object of worship as the embodiment of the supreme Dharma and Nichiren's inner enlightenment. The seven characters Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, considered to be the name of the supreme Dharma and the invocation that believers chant, are written down the center of all Nichiren-sect Gohonzons, whose appearance may otherwise vary depending on the particular school and other factors.

Mandala in Pure Land Buddhism

Like Nichiren, Pure Land Buddhists such as Shinran and his descendent Rennyo sought a way to create objects of reverence, but objects that were readily available to the lower-classes of Japanese society that could not afford the traditional form of mandala. In the case of Shin Buddhism, Shinran designed a mandala using a hanging scroll, and the words of the nembutsu (南無阿彌陀佛) written vertically.

Such mandalas are still often used by Pure Land Buddhists in home altars called butsudan today.

Mandala in Christianity

According to some, Mandalas found within Christianity include the Celtic Cross in which the centre of the circle is also the centre of the cross, whose four arms symbolize creativity, the four dimensions and the link between heaven and earth. Sometimes this takes the form of the 'rosy cross' of the mystic order of the Rosicrucians. Here the rose suggests pure love, as well as sacrifice." The mandala can also be found in the halo that surrounds the head of Christ and the saints in Christian art. And the labyrinth or circular maze such as the one found on the floor of Chartres Cathedral in northern France is considered by some another example of a mandala. It represents a journey from the outer world to the inner sacred centre where the Divine is found.[25]

Mandala in Islam

In Islam, sacred art is dominated by geometric shapes in which a segment of the circle, the crescent moon, together with a star, represent the Divine. The entire building of the mosque becomes a mandala as the dome of the roof represents the arch of the heavens and turns the worshipper's attention towards Allah.[26]

Other meanings of mandala

a contemporary mandala made from a photograph of tree fungus.

In the West, mandala is also used to refer to the "personal world" in which one lives, the various elements of the mandala or the activities and interests in which one engages, the most important being at the centre of the mandala and the least important at the periphery. Depicting one's personal mandala in pictorial form can give one a good indication of the state of one's spiritual life.[citation needed]


Amateur Mandalas

Today, many children in school create mandalas in art class. Adults may create them also. They can be used for decoration, and for museum display. The process of creating a mandala can be a reflective journey of meditation that accesses the deeper truer part of oneself.

Notes

  1. ^ See David Fontana: "Meditating with Mandalas", p. 10
  2. ^ http://www.crystalinks.com/mandala.html
  3. ^ See C G Jung: Memories, Dreams, Reflections, pp.186-197
  4. ^ See David Fontana: "Meditating with Mandalas", p. 12
  5. ^ http://www.mandala21century.org/the_mandala.html
  6. ^ http://www.jyh.dk/indengl.htm#Symbols
  7. ^ http://www.jyh.dk/indengl.htm#Symbols Mandala by Jytte Hansen
  8. ^ http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2122/stories/20041105000106500.htm
  9. ^ http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/mandala/
  10. ^ http://www.lotsawahouse.org/cdmandala.html
  11. ^ http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2122/stories/20041105000106500.htm
  12. ^ http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/awakening101/sudgrad2.html
  13. ^ http://home.swipnet.se/ratnashri/ngondro.htm
  14. ^ http://www.jyh.dk/indengl.htm
  15. ^ http://www.jyh.dk/indengl.htm#Circles
  16. ^ http://www.jyh.dk/indengl.htm
  17. ^ http://www.asianart.com/mandalas/tibet.html
  18. ^ See Sand Mandala http://www.artnetwork.com/Mandala/
  19. ^ http://www.artnetwork.com/Mandala/gallery.html
  20. ^ http://www.berzinarchives.com/tantra/meaning_use_mandala.html
  21. ^ http://www.bdcu.org.au/scw/thanka.html
  22. ^ http://www.yoniversum.nl/dakini/charnel_g.html
  23. ^ http://www.sootze.com/tibet/mandala.htm
  24. ^ http://www.thubtenchodron.org/PrayersAndPractices/preliminary_practice.htm
  25. ^ See David Fontana: "Meditating with Mandalas", p. 11, 54, 118
  26. ^ See David Fontana: "Meditating with Mandalas", p. 11-12

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mandala.

Select bibliography

  • M Brauen, The Mandala, Sacred circle in Tibetan Buddhism Serindia Press, London, 1997
  • S Cammann, Suggested Origin of the Tibetan Mandala Paintings The Art Quarterly, Vol. 8, Detroit, 1950
  • David Fontana, "Meditating with Mandalas", Duncan Baird Publishers, London, 2005
  • Sylvie Grossman and Jean-Pierre Barou, Tibetan Mandala, Art & Practice The Wheel of Time, Konecky and Konecky, 1995
  • Giuseppe Tucci, The Theory and Practice of the Mandala trans. Alan Houghton Brodrick, New York, Samuel Weisner, 1973
  • Roberto Vitali, Early Temples of Central Tibet London, Serindia Publications, 1990
  • Alex Wayman, "Symbolism of the Mandala Palace" in The Buddhist Tantras Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1973
  • Gold, Peter (1994). Navajo & Tibetan sacred wisdom: the circle of the spirit. ISBN 0-89281-411-X. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help) Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International.

Mandala General

Tibetan Sand Mandala

Mandala As Art

Mandala And Spirituality

Resources For Making A Mandala

Mandala Software

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