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Spirituality of Mandalas.
I’ll give a very basic rundown of what a Mandala is and its purpose in Buddhism although… religious institutions like Christianity use a form of them through a Christian lens and they tend to be permanent. Other practices like Hinduism and Tibetan monks, China, Nepal etc… also create their own versions of them. I’ll go over the more tradition Tibetan Buddhist method.
A Mandala is essentially a work of art that a Buddhist will make, they will clear a ritual space, sit down and rather have a Guide or do it themselves, they take colored sand and over the period of days if not longer create a beautiful work of art. The reason for this is for spiritual understanding and meditation. As well as… their belief nothing is permanent, it is the transformation of sadness to joy as they carefully choose the pattern to create a more beautiful rendition of the universe.
Each symbol has a meaning,
For instance a circle can be interpreted as wholeness,
A square can be interpreted as the physical world
More unique Shapes can represent other aspects of the universe.
each color has a meaning as well.
Blue for calmness or peace, red for passion or strength, Green for well being or nature, etc…
It’s a common practice after creating these gorgeous mandalas for Tibetan Monks to not save them, but rather let the sand drift away in water or brush them away. This process highlights the impermanence of life.
This is a very important concept in spirituality imo. Letting things go. You may work hard on something just to destroy it or let others enjoy.
The end result isn’t the prize, it was what was learned during the creation. It’s a form of meditation, it’s a form of creativity, it’s a form of expression.
It is a way of nurturing your soul.
I’ll give a very basic rundown of what a Mandala is and its purpose in Buddhism although… religious institutions like Christianity use a form of them through a Christian lens and they tend to be permanent. Other practices like Hinduism and Tibetan monks, China, Nepal etc… also create their own versions of them. I’ll go over the more tradition Tibetan Buddhist method.
A Mandala is essentially a work of art that a Buddhist will make, they will clear a ritual space, sit down and rather have a Guide or do it themselves, they take colored sand and over the period of days if not longer create a beautiful work of art. The reason for this is for spiritual understanding and meditation. As well as… their belief nothing is permanent, it is the transformation of sadness to joy as they carefully choose the pattern to create a more beautiful rendition of the universe.
Each symbol has a meaning,
For instance a circle can be interpreted as wholeness,
A square can be interpreted as the physical world
More unique Shapes can represent other aspects of the universe.
each color has a meaning as well.
Blue for calmness or peace, red for passion or strength, Green for well being or nature, etc…
It’s a common practice after creating these gorgeous mandalas for Tibetan Monks to not save them, but rather let the sand drift away in water or brush them away. This process highlights the impermanence of life.
This is a very important concept in spirituality imo. Letting things go. You may work hard on something just to destroy it or let others enjoy.
The end result isn’t the prize, it was what was learned during the creation. It’s a form of meditation, it’s a form of creativity, it’s a form of expression.
It is a way of nurturing your soul.
