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An inspiring collection of original mandalas and articles about the peace, beauty and self-discovery found in the mandala.
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Mandala Structure:
The Hidden Temple Within |
The physical structure of the mandala is a beautiful mirror of the landscape of our conscious and subconscious awareness. In its traditional representation, the mandala contains a series of concentric rings, emanating outward and inward just as our mental awareness radiates in all directions at once. The process of constructing a traditional mandala is highly structured and ritualized, each element must be drawn with strict adherence to prescribed parameters. In Tibetan sand mandalas, monks must carefully memorize the names, lengths and positions of all the lines and elements that compose the mandala. Also, the very difficult technique of pouring the sand with the necessary precision must be mastered with utter perfection. The mandala’s layout is based on an essential plan known as vaastu purusha mandala, which roughly means “architecture of cosmic energy.” This structure, so clearly indicative of the mandala’s central focus and power, is representative of the designs of ancient Indian temples, and thus intended to call forth the divinity inherent within the initiate. After all, this is indeed just what a mandala is—it is a journey into a holy temple, a quest to find the sacred space within each of us. An important function of the mandala is to invoke the powerful spiritual force found within the viewer. Through the mandala can be found the connection between ourselves and our ancient, forgotten origins.
This wondrous journey begins outside the temple walls, where we encounter the rings representative of the spiritual trials we must undergo to reach the sacred space within. The first is a ring of the fire of wisdom, through which we must pass as an act of transformation and purification, purging the soul to prepare it for the journey ahead. Next we find a ring of diamond scepters, or vajra, whose pure crystalline structure symbolizes the permanent, unchangeable state of the spiritual realms further within the mandala. It also symbolizes strength and fearlessness. In mandalas presenting the wrathful deities, the next ring contains eight compass wheels that represent cremation mounds, or smasana, placed at the four cardinal points and the four intermediate points. These are said to be a reference to the tombs around which the ancient Indian ascetics used to sit and meditate. After such intense meditation about the dead and their place of rest, it is thought that we may cast off the fear of death itself and thus prepare our hearts and minds for the sublime contemplation of the inner workings of the human psyche. These eight tombs are also said to represent the eight states of consciousness that we must pass beyond to see clearly into the soul—the consciousness of sight, the consciousness of sound, the consciousness of taste, the consciousness of smell, the consciousness of the body, the consciousness of thought, the consciousness of self, and basic consciousness. In addition, the wrathful deities represent the inner struggles that make our quest for enlightenment so difficult. These qualities are considered harmful only while we see them as external elements. When we recognize them as inner aspects of ourselves we may tame them through meditation and spiritual practice, thus transforming them into benevolent characteristics. The final ring before we reach the temple itself is the ring of lotus petals, which indicates that the inner layers of the mandala that we are about to enter exist not in the physical world but within the human spirit. Also, the lotus, by emerging from the river’s muddy waters yet maintaining its brilliant purity, shows us that we, too, may pass through the difficulties of this life and emerge in a state of pure truth and being.
The quadrants of the mandala’s background are often divided into triangles bearing any four of five typical colors—blue, red, green, yellow and white. These colors represent the five families of deities, respectively: Akshobhya, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Ratnasambhava and Vairocana. Each of these families, or kula, is governed by a tathagata, or “one who sees reality as it is.” The colors also represent one of the five afflictions of the human personality—pride (mana), envy (irsya), desire (raga), hatred (dvesa), and confusion (moha). These afflictions lay like a haze upon our true inner nature and make the experience of life and of knowing the self into a difficult interplay of confusing emotions. Through meditation and other spiritual exercise, these afflictions may be transformed into the wisdom of each corresponding tathagata: pride becomes sameness wisdom (samatajnana), envy becomes accomplishment wisdom (krtyanustha-najnana), desire becomes discernment wisdom (pratyaveksanajnana), hatred becomes mirror-like wisdom (adarsajnana), and confusion becomes wisdom of the oneness of reality (dharmadhatujnana).
Finally we reach the glorious temple-palace itself, or kutagara, which is usually facing eastward. At the four cardinal points are the elaborate gates, called torana, which allow us access to the deepest circles of the mandala. The gates of the palace are breathtaking and ornate, and there may be many layers of walls in this section of the mandala. Within the different enclosures one may find a multitude of deities, toward whose different inclinations the mandala is oriented.
Within and arround the space of the temple-palace we find additional deities, sometimes up to several hundred. They are usually arranged symmetrically around the mandala, marking the four cardinal points as well as the intermediate points. Some of these deities are considered the guardians of the inner temple, and this area is called the raksacakra, or protective sphere. These guardian deities, or vighnantaka (ones who eliminate impediments), serve to block entrance to the unworthy who would defile the inner realms, and to help purify the spirit of the initiate thus helping them achieve enlightenment. Beyond these deities are often found a series of goddesses and bodhisattvas offering gifts, forming circles around the temple’s innermost chamber. In this area of the mandala we may also find housed the dharmachakra, or dharma wheel, whose eight spokes symbolize the Eightfold Path of Buddhist teaching—right belief, right resolution, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right thinking, and peace of mind through meditation. Also at the very heart of the mandala is often found the deity to which the mandala is dedicated, and toward whom the initiate feels kinship or whose characteristics they wish to acquire.
This intimate journey into the mandala is like a soul-stirring walk through a beautiful temple. Strolling its corridors we will find focus, compassion and truth. In its chambers we come face to face with the fabric of the cosmos and the secrets of the spirit. From its spires we may glimpse happiness, contentment, understanding and, in the distance, the very edges of the illusion of Maya. And ultimately, upon gaining perspective from within and without, from above and below, we may realize that this temple of ultimate awareness is as close and as familiar as our own inner self. This link to the essential reality is within us, for after all we are the very creatures of its marrow, born of the breath of the universe. This seed of truth awaits only to be recognized by us, understood, and accepted.
October 26, 2004 by Peter Patrick Barreda. Material copyright 2011, all rights reserved.
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