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MANDALA

A Sanskrit term mandala ( Tibetan: Dkyil 'khor) literally means "wheel", "ring"- as well as "circle", "entourage", "surroundings". In Buddhist context the word has both meanings, since it refers to a round diagram, in which deities along with their entourage are placed. Mandala depicts a holy land, usually heavenly palace, including symbols and images, which describe various aspects of enlightened, psychophysical presence of Buddha; they also refer to various Buddhist concepts and teachings. His Holiness the Dalai Lama explains that the picture of mandala is "extremely deep, since meditating over it is an antidote, instantly removing everything - even the most hidden inclinations - which interferes with our reaching of liberation and all-knowledge". 'Obstacles to liberation and all-knowledge" - these are two kinds of mental stains, which are the obstacles to reaching the state of Buddha. So Mandala represents an enlightened mind free from any obstacles and in the context of tantric practice constitutes a powerful symbol of a state, which a meditating person tries to reach.

Mandalas are usually made up of several concentric circles inscribed in a square, surrounded by yet one more wheel. In the middle of each of the sides there is a gate - the main one from the West - leading to a central palace of the most important deity; the palace loos like a traditional, four-sided Hindu temple. Mandalas are complicated blueprints of the palace seen from above; the outside walls and portal, lavishly decorated with tantric symbols are often placed in a flat position. The structure of mandalas symbolises both the nature of reality and the characteristics of an enlightened mind. The image retrieved from the empty nature of the mind through the power of visualisation is to invoke attitudes and understanding corresponding with its inner symbolic structure.

The centre of mandala symbolises a sanctuary of the main deity and is the holy centre of the whole image. There are innumerable variants of mandalas: some are simple, with only one deity, others are more complicated - with hundreds of deities, assistants, mythical creatures, symbols and landscapes. All are meant to represent graphically the state of enlightenment - since the palace is the creation of Buddha's mind. In his journey towards enlightenment Bodhisattva earns a great merit and develops wisdom, which, with time, allow him to create "the lands of Buddha", which are the emanations of his consciousness.

Thus Mandalas represent lands of various deities, and their elements correspond with mythology and the attributes of the main figure. In the mandala of Medicine Buddha (Sangje Menla) we can, for example, find many herbs and medicines, since this Buddha is bound with curing. In the Mahayana scriptures Manjushri embodies wisdom, that is why in his mandala there appear sutras of Perfect Wisdom and the sward of knowledge cutting off ignorance. Simultaneously it is emphasised that the images presented in a mandala do not have the ontological status. They symbolise the characteristics, which a meditating person tries to develop in themselves and they are meant to be an example of mental transformation - they do not, however, possess the self-contained existence. The same is true about demons and angry deities, which represent aspects of human consciousness, transformed through meditation into proper virtues.

Some mandalas represent Buddhas in different emanations, as menacing, protective deities, great teachers or Bodhisattvas. For a person practising a tantra mandala is a scheme of spiritual transformation: the central deity symbolises the state of enlightenment, which an adept tries to achieve, and particular parts of the palace show the most significant features of this enlightened state. Angry deities represent negative emotions, such as anger, hatred, desire, ignorance, all transformed into the enlightened mind of Buddha. The symbols decorating the diagram refer to important doctrines, myths, deities, etc., constitution a part of the idealised world of tantra, where there isn't even a trace of dualistic thinking, and samsara and nirvana are absolutely inseparable. Thus Mandala represents the unification of the microcosm (a human being) with the macrocosm which, for an unenlightened mind, has the nature of samsara, but after removing all erroneous divisions in the enlightened state of duality, mandala shows itself as a perfect image of the state of Buddha.

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