Mandalas
A mandala (Skt) is a circular arrangement of energies; it implies a sacred space and the inhabitants of that space. The Tibetan word for mandala—kyilkhor—means, roughly, “center and fringe” with a primary focus at the center, and supporting elements arranged around. In psychological terms, it has been said that mandalas express the sense of being in the middle of one’s life.
There are many kinds of mandalas, as well as many ways of represnting enlightened energies. There are painted mandalas, and these sometimes show anthropomorphic forms; there are mandalas made with painted sand, or heaped rice, or with jewels and other objects. Possibly because writing has been respected as a sacred gift from the gods, mandalas written with seed syllables have been considered the highest form. The creation, display, and deconstruction of mandalas is a central practice of esoteric Buddhism
This first mandala portrays the Vajradhatu—indestructible space—and the inhabitants of that space, the five buddhas. The teacher and meditation master, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche wrote:
The iconography of tantric buddhism, and all other aspects of it, is inspired by the teaching of the five buddha principles: vajra, ratna, padma, karma, buddha. These are the five basic energies present everywhere. They are often known as the five buddha families. Each one is associated with a certain ordinary emotion, which can be transmuted into a certain definite wisdom, or aspect of enlightened mind. The buddha families are also associated with specific colors, elements, directions, seasons, landscapes - with any aspect of the phenomenal world.
The Mandala of the Vajradhatu
In the center is the syllable VAM for Vairochana Tathagata,
in the east (the syllable at the bottom of the image) is HŪM, for Askshobya Tathagata,
in the south, TRĀH for Ratnasambhava Tathagata,
in the west, HRĪH, for Amitabha Tathagata,
and in the north AH, for Amoghasiddhi Tathagata
For more information (on this site) about these buddhas, see the section on prints.
The second mandala shown here is:
The Mandala of the Lotus Sūtra
One of the most famous and influential texts of the mahayana cycle, The Lotus Sutra (Saddharma Pundarika Sutra in Sanskrit) presents a number of important revelatory teachings. The merit derived from studying the text, reciting it or copying it was thought to be so great and so potent that practices grew up in China, Korea and Japan—and now in the West—devoted to just these activities.
The Lotus Sutra was taught by two buddhas, therefore there are two syllables in the middle. The other syllables invoke the principle interlocutors of the text, including a number of bodhisattvas (enlightenment beings), and protectors of the teaching situation.