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by Chris Wilkinson

The Mandala

The basic form of a mandala (Tib: dkyil 'khor) is comprised of a center (dkyil) and a circumference ('khor). There are two basic designs: (1) a deity in the center and a deity in each of the four directions, making five, or (2) a deity in the center, a deity in each of the four main directions, and a deity in the intermediate directions, such as northwest or southeast, making nine deities. Upon one of these themes more elaborate concatenations may be built. Many of the complex mandalas in this collection include hundreds of deities. By identifying the central deity, the other deities in the Mandala will be quickly identified.

Mandalas are present to the viewer of the Thangka in one of two ways. (1) The "aerial shot," where the details of the Mandala can be observed as if from above, and one can thence remember exactly which deity stands at which point of the visualization. (2) The "side-view shot," where one gets a close up of the main deity and his/her/their retinue. Many mandalas are portrayed in both styles, to aid practitioners in knowing both the details of the deity's appearance and retinue, and the way this can be seen when one puts oneself, in meditation, into the position of the deity at the center of the Mandala.



Copyright © 1998 Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, Shelley and Donald Rubin