According to Buddhist history, the purpose, meanings, and techniques involved in the spiritual art of sand mandala painting were taught by Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha (Fully Awakened One), in the sixth century BCE in India. This tradition has been preserved over the past 2,500 years in an unbroken transmission from master to disciple down to the present day.

The mandala (mahn-DAH-la), meaning “house” or “palace,” represents a Buddha’s divine place of residence. There are hundreds of mandalas representing each of the different tantric deities, each with its own unique set of details. To the Buddhist practitioner, the mandala represents the activities and teachings of a particular deity represented in the mandala, and can be described as the residence of the deity and the deity’s retinue.

Mandalas are used to aid in visualizing these dwellings, whether made of sand, cloth, or metal. Sand mandalas are one of the most magnificent types of mandala construction and are associated with the most profound and elaborate Buddhist ceremonies in Tibet. Every color, dot, and line in the mandala represents an essential part of the deity and Buddhist philosophy. Each component must be placed in exactly the same place every time the mandala is constructed. Although sand mandalas are made on a flat surface they are, to the devout, a three-dimensional palace representing the mind of the Buddha. The person contemplating the mandala enters into it, as they would a building or an enclosure.

Mandalas are immensely complex symbolic structures, with many layers of meaning and beauty. The construction of the aesthetically pleasing mandala is the result of long and disciplined effort, but it is nonetheless a temporary work. When the monks are finished, there is a dissolution ceremony where the deity is released by the dismantling of the mandala. The sand is cast into a body of water to emphasize and highlight the impermanence of all things and the importance of nonattachment. When the sand enters the water, the kindness and compassion of the deity are disseminated into the world to benefit all beings.

The mandala that is being created at the Fleming Museum is that of Chenrezig (Sanskrit, Avalokiteshvara), the Buddha of Great Compassion. While all Buddhas embody the perfected qualities of compassion, sublime wisdom and skillful means, each individual Buddha has a particular “specialty” in terms of

The Mandala of ChenrezigThe Buddha of Great CompassionCreated by monks from the personal monastery of His Holiness the 14th Dalai LamaNamgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies, Ithaca, New York

the methods used to benefit living beings. Chenrezig is a manifestation of all the Buddha’s compassion. His name means “One Who Looks with an Unwavering Eye.” Just as a mother looks after her only child with unwavering care, protects it from harm and provides it with every benefit possible, so does Chenrezig look after all sentient beings, at all times and in all situations, in order to free them from suffering and place them in the state of virtue and happiness. Devout Tibetan Buddhists believe His Holiness the Dalai Lama is an emanation of Chenrezig.

Chenrezig appears in the center of the mandala as a lotus flower on a moon disc. The lotus represents the lineage of Amitabha, one of the Five Buddha Families (the five principle aspects of Buddhahood as represented by personified Buddha forms). In most mandalas the five families correspond to the five purified psycho-physical aggregates (form, feeling, discernment, formation and consciousness) or the four afflictive emotions and ignorance that have been transformed into their respective wisdom. In the mandala of Chenrezig, Akshobhya Buddha (vajra family, mirror-like wisdom, aggression) resides in the East; Ratnasambhava (precious

jewel family, wisdom of equanimity, pride) in the South; Vairocana (Buddha family symbolized by the wheel, space-like wisdom, ignorance) in the West; Amoghasiddhi (karma [action] family symbolized by the sword, all-accomplishing wisdom, envy) in the North; and Amitabha (lotus family, discriminating awareness, passion) in the center.

The lotus is an important symbol in Buddhism. Just as the lotus flower grows from muddy water and emerges stainless and pure, so too is the mind fundamentally pure, even when it is temporarily clouded by confusion and negativity. The eight petals in the central lotus represent the four cardinal and four intermediate directions. The petals’ four colors symbolize the Buddhas’ modes of action: black, wrathful; red, pacifying; yellow, increasing; and green, peaceful. The pale blue lines of demarcation represent the element of space.

The colored sand is applied to the mandala through the end of a metal funnel, which is rasped with another funnel in order to release a fine stream of sand. The hollow ringing sound is the sound of emptiness, the absence of independent, self-existable. Just as there is no sound with one funnel alone, there is nothing that exists on its own. Because of interdependence, all beings depend on others for their happiness. In the same way, enlightenment depends upon causes and conditions.

For further reading, see:“The Stages of the Rite of a Tantric Initiation,” by Panchen Otrul Rinpoche: Cho Yang, No. 3, pg.56; Dharamsala, India, 1989

“An Explanation of the Names of Avalokiteshvara,” by Geshe Palden Dakpa; Cho Yang, No. 3, pg.88; Dharamsala, India, 1989

At the mandala’s center is Chenrezig, appearing here as a lotus flower on a moon disc.

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