Mandala
A mandala is a sacred symbol characterized by its circular design, originating from ancient Sanskrit meaning "sacred circle." While most commonly associated with Tibetan Buddhism, where it serves as a meditative tool for monks and nuns, mandalas are also found in various cultures, including Indigenous American traditions, which create similar circular art forms imbued with spiritual significance. The intricate designs often represent a three-dimensional palace where deities reside, facilitating a deeper meditation experience aimed at enlightenment.
Traditionally crafted with colored sand or crushed stones, mandalas embody the concepts of symmetry, balance, and impermanence, as they are meticulously created only to be ceremonially destroyed after completion. This act symbolizes the transient nature of life, a key tenet in Buddhism. In contemporary contexts, mandalas have transcended their religious origins, serving as tools for relaxation and self-expression. Art therapists, inspired by the work of figures like Carl Jung, utilize mandalas to explore mental states and emotions. Today, mandalas are popular in art therapy and personal reflection, allowing individuals to engage in creative expression through coloring or designing circular patterns, regardless of their religious connotations.
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Mandala
A mandala is a sacred religious symbol in a number of faith traditions. The word comes from ancient Sanskrit and means "sacred circle." Traditional mandalas are part of a meditative religious practice in Buddhist and Indigenous American cultures and are often rendered in sand or colored dirt. In their original form, mandalas are most closely associated with Tibetan monks, whose religious training includes instruction in the ritual creation of intricate designs full of religious symbolism. The term mandala has been adopted to apply to circular art rendered in a variety of mediums as part of other religious traditions. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, mandalas have been used as tools to aid relaxation, with or without any religious connotation.
Background
The process of crafting mandalas originated in India more than two thousand years ago, but Buddhist monks from Tibet are among the most well-known practitioners of these creations. According to Buddhist scripture, Buddha instituted the practice of creating mandalas in the fifth or sixth century Common Era (CE). In more recent times, Buddhist nuns also began creating elaborate mandalas.
Usually incorporating circles, mandalas represent the all-encompassing nature of the universe. A mandala designer envisions a three-dimensional palace so completely that they are able to mentally walk its hallways. The palace is home to one or more deities, the most important of which resides at the center. This mental palace becomes the design for the mandala, which serves as a tool for focusing and guiding meditation for the monk or nun seeking enlightenment. Mandalas are also used as tools for healing through the prayers and meditations that accompany their creation.
While mandalas may be created on paper or other surfaces with paints, they are often rendered in sand, crushed semiprecious stones, or powdered colored marble. Five colors are used in traditional mandalas—red, blue, yellow, green, and white. The design is envisioned and laid out, and then the mandala artist painstakingly fills in the design with sand or stones, one grain at a time. The designs are usually symmetrical and include balance and attention to detail.
A single mandala may take days, weeks, or months to complete, depending on the number of monks or nuns working on it. Once the design is complete, prayers are recited over it. Sometimes, the completed mandala is a featured part of a celebration or commemoration. After these observances are complete, the design is wiped away just as painstakingly as it was created. One of the creators swipes intersecting lines through the colored material, before another uses a paintbrush to sweep all the colored sand or stones together in the center. These materials are then gathered and either handed out to those in attendance or, more commonly, deposited with ceremony in a nearby moving body of water, such as a river or stream. This action symbolizes the impermanence of life, which was a key teaching of Buddha. It is also thought to move the healing energy generated by the mandala into the earth.
Overview
While mandalas are usually associated with Tibetan Buddhists, other cultures have used circular art forms similar to mandalas. Indigenous Americans create images with religious significance in circular or symmetrical forms, such as the medicine wheel, often using colored dirt and sand to render the designs. The circular rose windows of stained glass that grace many Christian cathedrals and churches, large round labyrinths meant for meditative walking, and some Wiccan symbols drawn in circular form are also forms of mandalas. While these and other circular images from various faith traditions do not necessarily have the same meditative significance that a Buddhist mandala has, all are similar in that they are intended to create a deepening of the religious experience in the creator and the viewer.
Swiss psychologist Carl Jung is credited with increasing awareness of mandalas in the Western world. Jung connected the creation of circles with a representation of "self." He noted that drawing circles is one of the first developmental milestones of a young child's ability to express themselves and that a child will often first draw themselves as a circle with a face, arms, and legs. Jung noted that his patients often drew circles or mandala-like objects, and he experimented with drawing and painting them himself to see how emotions and mental state affected the form of the circle drawings.
Other health professionals also experimented with using mandalas to discern a person's mental state and help facilitate healing. During the 1970s, art therapist Joan Kellogg created the MARI® (Mandala Assessment Research Instrument) system of assessing a person's physical and mental health by having the patient view different mandala-like images on cards and recording their reactions. MARI® cards are still used in some situations to help therapists identify and deal with issues related to a patient's childhood, current state of mind, and communication; relationship issues; sexual issues; and the strengths and gifts they possess.
An aftereffect of the work done by Jung, Kellogg, and others has been the idea that creating or even simply coloring, mandalas can benefit a person's mental and physical state. Those who embrace this idea think that using colored pencils, crayons, or other artistic mediums to design a circular art form allows a person to express inner feelings. By looking at these drawings over time, a person can get a sense of the state of their inner mind.
Some people simply color mandala-like designs created by others. The choice of colors and their placement in the design is thought to unleash the person's creative side, while the repetitive act of applying the color to the page has a soothing effect on the spirit. Whether created or simply colored, these contemporary mandalas serve a similar purpose to the originals. They provide an opportunity for meditation and reflection, even if the person engaging in the activity has no religious purpose in mind. The use of mandalas continued to evolve as well. Digital tools made it possible to design and color mandalas online. Mandalas became popular in mixed media art as artists combined traditional design with contemporary art forms and materials. Mandalas also became popular home decorating decor.
Bibliography
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Frame, Phyllis G. "Assessing a Couple's Relationship and Compatibility Using the MARI® Card Test and Mandala Drawings." Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, vol. 23, no. 1, 2006, pp. 23–29.
“Mandala Coloring: A Secret Meditation Technique Revealed.” Special Art Books, specialartbooks.com/mandala-coloring-a-secret-meditation-technique-revealed. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
"Sacred Mandala." BBC, 23 Nov. 2009, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/customs/mandala.shtml. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
Snyder, Beverly A. “Mandalas: Art as Healer.” Guidance & Counselling, vol. 15, no. 1, Sept. 1999, p. 30. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=7267702&site=ehost-live. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
"What Is MARI®?" MARI® – Mandala Assessment Research Instrument.com, www.maricreativeresources.com/what-is-mari. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.