The healing sand mandala is a part of a traditional Tibetan Buddhist ceremony held to bring healing energy to the world. The mandala itself represents a cosmic diagram of a deity’s dwelling. Thus, as the mandala represents the structure of a deity’s mansion, the Tibetan mandalas include different adornments to the mansion, such as wish-fulfilling trees and a circle of lotus petals. The mandala can be used as a meditation object, a guide to ethical, and moral values, and a tool of advanced Buddhist practices of making offerings to deities. Mandalas are a common element of Buddhism, which can also be met in India, China, Japan, and Indonesia.
In the beginning, the monks use tools to make a sketch of the mandala and evenly divide the parts of the primary circle into several parts. After the circle is divided into equal parts resembling flower petals, the monks paint the background for each petal with bright colors. Sand mandalas are often created by a team where each monk creates a different part of the mandala, as sand mandalas take a long time to create. However, mandalas with relatively simple designs do not require additional help. With the help of sand dispensing tools, monks are able to precisely place colored sand in the form of symbols, patterns, or smaller images. The dispensing tool Chakpu presents a funnel that is filled with colored sand. The monks achieve accurate placement by lightly knocking the tube with a stick (Tibetan Sand). Alternatively, the sand can be placed and adjusted with other instruments or hands. Finally, in the last step of the ceremony, monks destroy the mandala to release its healing energy to the world.
Mandalas usually are created in bright primary colors such as green, blue, yellow, and red. The borders between patterns and elements can be created with either white or black colored sand. While the outer parts of the mandala symbolizing protection are symmetrical or repeated throughout the circle, the designs in the central part do not necessarily follow symmetry rules. The most common designs for mandalas include an eight-petaled lotus flower, a nine-panel grid, and an eight-spoked wheel (Tanaka 590). The mandala in the picture follows the lotus flower structure, with the deity pictured in the form of a lotus flower in the mandala’s center.
While the meaning of specific elements in the mandala is known only to monks, one can define the mandala’s significance by its attributes. The mandala on the picture uses relatively uncomplicated patterns, with the lotus in the center and four other symbols depicted on the petals. The lotus represents the balance of the world; therefore, the mandala in the picture is supposed to bring peace. The other symbolic elements include the Dharma wheel, a flaming sword, a vajra, and a precious jewel. The mandala structure does not look like a deity’s place, and therefore one could suggest that the mandala was created as a meditation exercise or as a part of moral guidance.
The mandala illustrates the significance that people associate with art and the time dedicated to creating art. The fact that the mandala is destroyed at the end of the ceremony symbolizes the impermanence of existence. Buddhism accepts reincarnation as the process of individuals’ way to enlightenment. Similarly, the mandala is destroyed to transform into positive energy and bring balance and peace to the world. Through learning about mandalas, I learned that art is acknowledged as a process of accumulating energy rather than creating a permanent object Buddhism.
As the main source of information, the paper used the book An Illustrated History of the Mandala: From Its Genesis to the Kalacakratantra written by Kimiaki Tanaka. The book provides substantial information about the use of mandalas in different cultures. It also provides information about the basic elements and structure of mandalas. The paper also used a Tibetan sand mandala creation video as an additional source (Tibetan Sand). Thus, combining both sources provided theoretical and visual knowledge for the paper.
Works Cited
Tanaka, Kimiaki. An Illustrated History of the Mandala: From Its Genesis to the Kalacakratantra. Simon and Schuster, 2018.
“Tibetan Sand.” YouTube, uploaded by John Doe, 2013.