Mandala
Mandala - circle, completion, wholeness, eternity.
Tibetan Buddhists believe that the mandala is a “matrix or model of a perfected universe”, “everything is a mandala.” This is one of the two varieties of mandalas used in Tibetan Buddhism. “Mandalas represent the conventional universe as it is used in the Mandala Offering Ritual, where one symbolically offers the entire universe. During the offering one recites mandala offering prayers”.
In Hindu’s mandala a person’s “spiritual journey from the stage of material existence to ultimate enlightenment is mapped on the Sri Yantra. The spiritual journey is taken as a pilgrimage in which every step is an ascent to the center, a movement beyond one’s limited existence, and every level is nearer to the goal”.
There are mandalas used in the West. The medicine wheel, Hermetic, Celtic and Kabbalah tradition, Rose windows, labyrinths, and sacred geometry.
“… Only gradually did I discover what the mandala really is: ‘Formation, Transformation, Eternal Mind’s eternal creation’. And that is the self, the wholeness of the personality, which if all goes well is harmonious, but which cannot tolerate self-deceptions.” C. G. Jung
Mandala is an offering, prayer and dedication, and it is art, healing, and inner self-discovery.
[…] I like the symbolism of mandala as a transformation from material existence to ultimate enlightenment. Mandala is an offering and prayer to the universe. Mandala is also art and assists healing, meditation, and inner self-discovery. […]