Mandalas are symbols that represent the universe. They usually have a circular shape and are typical of Buddhism and Hinduism, as part of spirituality. Mandala is an ancient Sanskrit word which means circle.
I mandala are symbols that represent the universe. They usually have a circular shape and are typical of Buddhism and Hinduism, as part of spirituality. Mandala is an ancient Sanskrit word which means circle.
You can easily recognize a mandala by the presence of concentric circles and repeated geometric shapes. In its simplest type, a mandala is a square that contains a circle with several circles or squares inside.
The original mandalas are decorated according to traditional iconography, which includes a multitude of geometric shapes and ancient symbols of spiritual significance. In Tibetan Buddhism, mandalas are created with colored sand.
Tibetan monks make sand mandalas following a special practice called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which literally means "mandala of colored powder". In the past, the creation of mandalas could include the use of precious stones, such as lapis lazuli, which were chosen for the blue color, rubies for the red and so on.
Nowadays the technique to create sand mandalas involves using simple white stones that are ground and dyed with opaque inks to obtain an effect similar to that of precious stones.
Creating a sand mandala begins with one opening ceremony where monks chant mantras and play flutes and drums. Then they get to work and first carefully measure and draw the contours of the mandala on a flat surface, with a chalk or pencil.
Once the basic scheme is ready, millions of grains of sand Coloured are carefully arranged in the different sections of the drawing. The grains of sand are poured onto the surface with a narrow metal funnel called a chakpur.
According to tradition, four monks work simultaneously on the same mandala. Each monk is assigned one of the four quadrants of the mandala.
With extreme patience the monks arrange the grains of sand proceeding from the center outwards. Completing a single mandala can take several weeks depending on the amount of detail to be cured.
Making a sand mandala takes a lot of time, patience and precision. But these sand mandalas have a very short life span. Shortly after their completion, the monks completely destroy the mandalas they created with so much care and attention. The destruction of the mandala is for learning the non-attachment, to understand that nothing lasts forever.
Marta Albè
Photo source: Daily Mail
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