The Mandala in Tibetan Buddhism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The Mandala in Tibetan Buddhism - Research Paper ExampleThe Sanskrit term mandala (dkhyl khor in Tibetan language) literally means circle, twain in the sense of a circular diagram and a surrounding retinue (Powers, 2007, p. 262). In Buddhistic vocabulary, the term encompasses both contexts because it refers to circular diagrams that often incorporate illustrations of deities and their environs. Mandalas are a type of tantrik symbolic representation, impartation a domain of sacredness, frequently portraying the celestial palace of a Buddha. They represent underlying philosophies with rudimentary significance in Tibetan Buddhism. The symbols and images in a mandala describe features of the wake up psychophysical personality of the Buddha, and Buddhist themes and concepts (Powers, 2007, p.262). Generally, at that place are four types of mandalas two outer mandalas made from powdered colors and created on a plain surface or painted on textiles, those random variableed in meditati on, and the inner mandala depicting the body of the guru/ teacher or that of the self (Brauen, 1992). Mandala is a Sanskrit word in which manda means essence and la means container thence the term translates into a container of essence (Fleming, 2006). The Tibetan term for mandala is dkhyl khor, with khor defined as that which encircles and dkhyl meaning around a center they can be two or three dimensional and constructed of various materials. The sand mandala is believed to require been transmitted to Tibet from India in the eleventh century (Fleming, 2006). Some who fetch studied the historical nature of the mandala have conjectured that the mandala diagram arose in Tibet or China in pre-lamist times (Brauen, 1992). ... Thus, the mandala serves as a representation of an awakened mind that is free of all such obstacles (Powers, 2007, p.263). In the sphere of tantrik practice, it is a powerful symbol of the state that meditators attempt to achieve. Thesis Statement The purpose o f this paper is to investigate the concept of mandala and the different types of mandalas. Their spectral and philosophical meaning in Tibetan Buddism will be discussed, with an emphasis on the sand mandala. The Mandala in Tibetan Buddhism The four types of mandalas consist of two outer mandalas which are made from powdered colors or painted on textiles. The third are the mandalas formed in meditation, and finally the body is the fourth form of mandala. A further form of mandala exists in the three-dimensional type, which are difficult to understand because spatiality is the some striking feature of the basic structure of mandalas. The Dharmamandala Sutra conveys the existince of gold, silver, shell, stone, horn, wood and clay, besides those painted on cloth or made of colored powder (Buddhist Society, 1996, p.160). Three-dimensional mandalas have been discovered in numerous places where Tibetan Buddhism spread, including the Potala in Lhasa where there is a Kalacakra mandala the Xuguang Ge of Pule Si in Chengde, China and Zangdog Palri Monastery in Kalimpong, India. The congenital three-dimensionality of all mandalas is seen in the depiction of a three dimensional mandala. This is not a Kalacakra mandala, notwithstanding a Zhi Khro mandala with one hundred and ten peaceful and wrathful deities of the intermediate state known as bar do. These are the deities that appear to the deceased immediately upon entering the sphere of death. Two-dimensional mandalas may any be painted