Buddhism meaning sand. The meanings of Tibetan mandalas are sacred symbols of Buddhism

(other ind. "m andala”, “circle”, “disk”, “round”, “circular”, etc.), one of the main sacred symbols in Buddhist mythology; a ritual object embodying a symbol; type of ritual offering (including sacrifice).

A remarkable feature of temple (as well as secular) building in India is that all Hindu temples were built according to the same "building plan", which was called Vastu-purusa-mandala. This word is interpreted as follows: "mandala" means "plan, scheme, ritual diagram"; Purusha is a cosmic man who embodies the universal Being, the beginning, the filling and the essence of everything (see the hymn in his honor in the Rigveda, X, 90); "Vastu" means "place, receptacle". Thus, the "Vastu-purusha-mandala" is nothing more than a "diagram of the residence of Purusha", or the plan of the Cosmos, embodied on earth in the form of a temple, or the image of Purusha, his likeness. So, the form of any Hindu temple, its meaning and significance are determined by this plan-cosmogram, regulated by it (there were other types of mandalas. But this is a symbolic plan, and not a plan of a real temple and not a plan of the area where it was built.

The architect (sthapati) who built the temple had to have, in addition to architectural technique, knowledge of the entire philosophical and religious tradition embodied in the creation of the mandala: after all, the construction of temples was to a very large extent associated with observations of celestial bodies, astrology and astronomy, with complex rituals ( Manusamhita, VII, 47-48). Each movement while pulling the cord and drawing the lines of the mandala at the site of the future temple was ritual and cosmically significant. That is why this art was reflected early in the Vedic literature. In particular, special manuals were devoted to traditional architecture - V astu-śāstras.

What does a building mandala look like? This is primarily a square in plan, oriented to the cardinal points, and such are all Hindu temples, this is their fundamental form. The mandala can be engraved on a stone or on an altar, it was drawn on the ground before the construction of the temple in full size or symbolically. According to Kramrish, the square suggests a circle and produces it in the end; the circle and the square coordinate with each other in the architecture of India, beginning with the Vedic Agni fire altar.

A typical "vastu mandala" looks like a square with east on top; sometimes the figure of Purusha himself is inscribed in the square with his head in the northeast corner of the mandala. The union of microcosm and macrocosm is embodied in this case in the correlation of the human body and the mandala (by the way, the yogic doctrine involves considering one's own body as a mandala. The square is divided into smaller squares (raya). There are 32 squares on the outer side of the mandala, eight on each side; each of them is dedicated to some to the god whose name is often inscribed on this square. Thus, each direction in the cardinal directions has eight gods. The cosmic character of this distribution of gods and cardinal points is given by the identification of each of the eight directions with one planet, and also with one of the largest stars. such a plan of the temple provided the architect with the proper presence of all the gods in the future temple.

So, already at the stage of preparation for the construction of the temple and in the process of its foundation, the issue of the “correct” cult orientation of the future temple was given exceptional importance. The eastern side was sacred; as a rule, the main entrance to the temple was located here. Visitors to temples were also supposed to pay attention to the subordination of the countries of the world. So, in order to prevent any obstacles on the path to success, one of the descriptions of the rituals prescribed the following behavior in a Hindu temple for those who pray: and north door.

Even the location of the temples in the city was subordinated to the ritual and cosmic symbolism of the countries of the world. As Kramrish has shown, Shiva temples within the city were usually located in the northeast, and Vishnu temples in the west. The center was the place for the temple of Brahma, or Vishnu, or another incarnation of the main god for this temple. Sun temples were usually located in the east. Buddhist and Jain temples, as heretical, were usually located in the southwest of the city. As you can see, the city as a whole had its own magical mandala, distributing various values ​​to different parts of the world.

Often the temple had a tower (for example, in the North Indian Shikhara or the South Indian Vimana), which, personifying the cosmic Mount Meru, was oriented to the cardinal points.

Athanasius Nikitin, who visited the Shaivist temple of Parvati (Sriparvati), which he compares in importance for Shaivites with Jerusalem for Christians and Mecca for Muslims, notes that their temples are facing east (“placed to the east”), the faces of the images are also turned there gods ("stand to the east").

Returning to the issue of mandalas in the life of Indian society, it should be said that Vedic altars were also built in accordance with mandalas - ritual plans consisting of a combination of squares, each of which is perceived as the location of a particular god; such, for example, are the mandalas of the Agni altar described above (references to a similar design of Vedic altars.

Mandalas were also used in prayer, initiation rites and other ritual activities where it was necessary to put into action all space forces modeled in a mandala. East as the upper, sacred side is an indispensable feature of any cosmogram mandala, no matter how different they are from each other (there are various combinations of concentric circles and squares, ornaments - lotuses or swastikas. Mandalas in various forms were inherited by Hinduism, Buddhism and Tibetan Lamaism.

The ritual permeated all spheres of life of the ancient Indians. This also applies to the theater, especially to the rites of founding and consecrating the theater building and to purvaranga - a special ceremony that preceded each performance of the drama in ancient times. These rites are described in the ancient Indian literary monument "Natyashastra" (dated from the 1st-11th centuries AD, but dating back in some of its parts to the 5th century BC), which is specially dedicated to the history, theory and rituals of the drama.

N. R. Lidova, who studied these rituals, came to the conclusion that the “theatrical” ritual is based on non-Vedic yajna- a ritual that served the sacrifices of Agni, Soma and other ceremonies of the Vedic religion, and puja, which arose in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e., when, on the basis of the Vedic religion and some other non-Aryan rituals, a new religious trend began to emerge - Hinduism, which, in the struggle with other newly born religions, for a long time became the main creed of India (in previous historiography, they usually saw in the rites of the Natyashastra an organic part of the Vedic yajna ritual).

Another important conclusion of Lidova is that theatrical ceremonies had a variety of sacred functions, and the theater itself originally had the status of a temple, where the puja was performed and the ritual drama of N.R. Lidov was performed. Drama and ritual ancient india. M., 1992, p. 119-124, 60-61, 100, 106). All this allows us to consider the rituals associated with the theater and described in the Natyashastra as an important element of the sacred life of the ancient Indian society in the period of the formation of Hinduism. Therefore, it is worth considering these rituals in more detail, in particular their orientation moments (their description is taken from Lidova's book).

Let's start with the rite of foundation and consecration of the theater (=temple). The ceremony of building the theater was to be started by the light of the star Mula (λ Scorpio) on a day that the Brahmins would consider auspicious. A special cord sprinkled with sacrificial water was used to measure the site for the future theater, while careless actions associated with breaking the cord or slipping it out of the hands should have led to negative consequences not only for the priests and patrons of the theater, but for the whole country.

When the foundation of the theater was laid, special gifts were brought to the deities of the countries of the world. On a special day, under the light of the stars of Rohini (Aldebaran) or Shravana (the constellation of the Eagle), the ceremony of laying pillars or columns was performed. The first four columns were installed, which were considered the most important and oriented to the intermediate cardinal points. They symbolized the main ancient Indian varnas - Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.

The multi-day rite of consecration of the built theater also resembles (or reproduces) the ritual of the consecration of the temple. One of the activities involved drawing a mandala scene on the floor. It had to be oriented strictly according to the cardinal points, contain four doors along the perimeter (also according to the cardinal points) and consist of nine squares, which should be populated by gods. In the center of the mandala was placed "Brahma sitting on a lotus", then the remaining eight sectors were filled.

Descriptions of the appearance of deities to the deceased in the other world, reflected, in particular, in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, are built on the principle of a mandala: “In the center of the Circle (or mandala), in a halo of rainbow rays, the Highest Deity Possessing Knowledge, the Lotus-like God of the Dance, the Supreme Guardian will appear Knowledge, He Who cultivates the fruits of karma; it shines with all five colors in the arms of the Divine Mother... In the eastern part of the Circle will appear the Deity, whose name is the Guardian of Knowledge on Earth, its color is white... In the southern part of the Circle will appear the Deity, the Guardian of Knowledge, whose name is the Lord of Life Span, his color - yellow... In the western part of the Circle, a Deity will appear, whose name is the Keeper of Knowledge of the Great Symbol, its color is red... In the northern part of the Circle, a Deity will appear, whose name is the Keeper of Special Knowledge; its color is green... In the outer Circle that encircles the Keepers of Knowledge, countless hosts of dakinis [fairy-like creatures] will appear..., heroes and heroines, heavenly warriors, deities-defenders of the doctrine...” (The Tibetan Book of the Dead. M. , 1995, pp. 67-69). Judging by the arrangement of the gods, most of the mandalas are oriented to the east.

According to legend, in the VIII century. n. e. two Buddhist masters from India made two mandalas in China. They were later given to Kukai (774-835), the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism in Japan. These two mandalas became the core of the esoteric teachings of Shingon Buddhism in Japan. One mandala, called the "vagina-mandala", consists of 12 "courts" containing a total of 414 deities; the central part of the mandala is occupied by the cosmic Vairochana, whose key, symbolic designation here sounds like “knowledge” (Japanese chi). The second mandala is called the “Diamond Mandala”, it contains 1461 deities and consists of a group of 9 individual mandalas (a square of 9 cells) , the central of which represents the Karma of the Buddha, symbolically designated as “principle” (Japanese ri). In graphic form, these mandalas reflected the essence of the esoteric teaching, representing the idea of ​​the Buddha and his relationship with other gods and man. As always, the orientation of these mandalas is east.

The mandala played an important role in the Buddhist rite of passage into monks. A mandala was drawn on the floor, the axes of which were set with cords, first from north to south, then from east to west. The intersection of these axes determined the center of the world and its four quarters. A blindfolded neophyte was brought to the eastern "gate" of the mandala and threw a flower or a stick into the mandala. On which of the quarters of the mandala (= world) the object fell, this was prescribed from above spiritual path ordained as a monk 1 .

MANDALA The very word "M." already noted in the Rigveda in many meanings (cf. "wheel", "ring", "orbit", "ball", "district", "country", "space", "set", "society", "collection ”, “one of the 10 parts of the Rigveda”, “libation”, “sacrifice”, type of earth, type of plant, etc.), which are generally reducible to the concept of round, and in some cases show an attraction to the sphere of the sacred (primarily in ritual). Buddhism, which arose on Indian soil, adopted the concept of M. and passed it on (as in a number of cases, the word itself) to its later continuations, primarily to various variants of northern Buddhism (Mahayana, Vajrayana, Tantrism) in Tibet, Central Asia, Mongolia, China, Japan since the first centuries of our era (however, the German orientalist Z. Hummel believes that M. arose in Tibet and then came here for the second time from India). In these later versions of Buddhism, the word "M." usually narrows the range of meanings, but on the other hand it becomes more terminological and unified in accordance with the further sacralization and universalization of the concept itself and the ritual incarnations associated with it. So, already in Tibetan Buddhism, two circles of meanings are constituted, one of which corresponds to the sphere of Buddhist cosmology (a type of circular or spherical space, in particular the earthly sphere, as well as fire and water), and the other - to the sphere of ritual (a magic diagram or a figurative image from grain or other sacrificial gifts, cf.
wearing” despite the fact that the original general meaning is also preserved - “circle”, “disk”, etc.).

M. belongs to the number of geometric signs of a complex structure. The most characteristic scheme of M. is an outer circle with a square inscribed in it; this square, in turn, is inscribed with an inner circle, the periphery of which is usually indicated in the form of an eight-petalled lotus or eight articulations segmenting this circle. The square is oriented to the cardinal points, which are also associated with the corresponding color of the adjacent space of the square from the inside (cf. in M. Lamaism, where the north is green, the east is white, the south is yellow, the west is red; the center corresponds to the blue color, although in In this case, the color is motivated primarily by the object depicted in the center). In the middle of each of the sides of the square there are T-shaped gates, continuing outward, already outside the square with cruciform images, sometimes limited by small semicircles. In the center of the inner circle, a sacred object of worship is depicted - a deity, its attribute or symbol, metonymically used in the ritual, especially often the vajra in different versions - single, double, triple, etc.

This main variant of M. exists in a number of modifications, their features are determined either by the object located in the center of M., or by some local variants of symbolism. Images of M., as a rule, are numerous (sometimes they seek to reproduce them in as many copies as possible) and are placed in various places recognized as sacred, for example, in temples, on canvas, on sacrificial dishes. M. are depicted picturesquely; are made of stone, wood, metal, clay, sand, dough, etc.

The most universal interpretation of magnetism is as a model of the universe, a “map of the cosmos,” and the universe is depicted in plan, as is typical for modeling the universe using a circle or square. Some idealized parameters of the universe, correlated with the system of higher sacred values, become the object of modeling (this is especially clear in Buddhism); as a rule, anthropomorphic objects with more specific semantics appear only inside the central circle. Cosmological
M.'s interpretation suggests that the outer circle denotes the entire universe in its entirety, outlines the boundary of the universe, its limits in space, and also models the temporal structure of the universe.

In this outer ring, 12 symbolic elements are often depicted - nidan, expressing 12 correlated causes, "links" of the chain of "interdependent origin", causing and ensuring the continuity of the life stream. These 12 nidanas in M. model the infinity and cyclicity of time, the “circle of time”, in which each unit is determined by the previous one and determines the next one. The isomorphism of the main parts of M. and the so-called Kalachakra - the “wheel of time”, the highest and most intimate of the four directions of the Vajrayana, also actualizes the temporal aspect of M. Finally, the outer circle of M. generally correlates with the calendar and chronological schemes of northern Buddhism and (wider) all Central and South-East Asia.

At the same time, the interpretation of M. or schemes close to it such as the “wheel of time” or “wheel of being” (other - Ind. Bhavachakra, Mong. “Sansarain Khurde” - “Wheel of Samsara”), etc. ethical and/or axiological structures (cf. the image on the “wheel” of six categories of the inhabited world, indicating the dependencies between the type of human behavior and the retribution awaiting him in the new birth). The sides of the square inscribed in the outer circle model the main directions, the spatial coordinates of the universe, the entry points of which into the inhabited world deserve special attention and protection. Therefore, it is often in these places of the square, in the T-shaped gates, that the so-called lokapals are placed. or maharajas - "great kings": Vaishravana in the north, Dhritarashtra in the east, Virudhaka in the south, Virupaksha in the west. Tantric ritual M., respectively, depict four dhyani-buddhas - Amoghasiddhi, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha. In this case, Vairochana is usually placed in the center.

The inner eight-petal circle (yantra) inscribed in a square symbolizes the feminine principle, the childbearing womb, inside which is often placed the sign of the masculine principle - the vajra. This ratio of geometric symbols in the center of M. is duplicated by a ritual and mythological motif: the invoked deity descends from heaven into the very center of M., designated by a lotus, where it performs an act that brings fertility, abundance, and success. In Tibet and Mongolia, M. is generally often regarded as the dwelling place of a deity or deities (cf. Mong. Hoto mandala, i.e., “M. of the dwelling place”; compare the designation of specific M. according to this principle: “Yamantakiin hoto”, “ the place of Yamantakyo, etc.). The precedent for the descent of a deity took place, according to legend, in the 8th century, when Padmasambhava, the founder of Buddhist Tantrism, who is also credited with making the first M., who needed divine help, built M. and stood up for a seven-day prayer, after which the deity descended to the center of M. and did what it was called for.

This motif of the deity's movement from top to bottom, from heaven to earth, to the center of M. introduces a vertical coordinate into the structure of M., although this coordinate is clearly revealed and even actualized precisely as the main one only during the ritual. Vertical movement, as well as its last, final stage - the deity in the center of M., are associated with other symbols of the vertical structure of the world - the world axis, the world tree, Mount Meru, and a ritual structure. Hence the correlation of M. (in full or partial form) with the structure (in terms of) of ritual structures - ziggurats or the mythical palace of chakravatina (see the works of the Italian buddhologist J. Tucci), stupa, royal palaces and temples in Southeast Asia and in Central America, plague, etc., and even with the layout of some urban-type settlements.

The structure of the social hierarchy was also often built and described according to the M principle. based on the principle of M. (or, conversely: M. is nothing but a scheme of such megalithic structures). Still others compare M. with other symbols of the universe: S. Kamman - with Chinese bronze mirrors of the Han period, with diagrams of the universe depicted on them; N. L. Zhukovskaya - with shamanic tambourines of the peoples of North Asia, bearing drawings that are a map of the universe. These points of view are legitimate, since the principle of M. is not only much more widespread than M. as such, but is practically universal both as a model of the universe (or its parts, cf. the so-called astrological M.) and as a means of reaching the depths of the subconscious in ritual or individual meditation.

Both of these functions of M. are connected together: the one who indulges in meditation or participates in the corresponding ritual as a leader places himself in the center of M. and expects a deity, a divine spirit, which should descend on him. C. G. Jung emphasized the universal character of M. as a psychocosmic system that sets a special universal rhythm that unites the macro- and microcosm and indicates that the idea of ​​M. and its very form were independently developed not only by the most diverse religious systems, but also creatively. gifted people (first of all, artists; cf. also the combination of "round" and "square" dances, forming a "mandalic" dance with the corresponding switching of rhythms) or patients suffering from various forms of mental illness, who set themselves up to remove one or another from their own subconscious archetypal complexes and/or their own "cosmization", i.e., the development of a single rhythm of man and the universe, the capture, perception and transformation of cosmic energy. This idea underlies some modern theories in medicine (Jungian psychotherapy), art and art history 2 .

MANDALA(Skt.) - a complex sacred phenomenon in Buddhism, which has several levels of meaning. In other-Ind. Literature M. meant: a circle, a ball, an orbit, a wheel, a ring, a country, a space, an aggregate, a society, an assembly, a type of snake, one of the parts of the Rig Veda, etc. All these words are in Sanskrit, except for the type of snake , are masculine nouns. In the buddhas tradition, the term M. acquired an additional number of meanings: 1) magical. a diagram used in the practice of contemplation; 2) philosophy. buddha concept. Universe, or "map" of the cosmos; 3) hierarchical. stairs, on which the pantheon of gods is located; 4) in cult practice - a dish for collecting sacrifices.

M. as magic. the diagram and how the "map" of the cosmos is a circle inscribed in a square, which, in turn, is again inscribed in a circle. Outer circle - the Universe, vnutr. a circle is the focus of a god or any other sacred object (most often it is a symbol that replaces a deity in a ritual). The square is oriented to the cardinal points and has T-shaped exits on each side, the so-called. gate to the universe. The field of the square is divided into 4 parts. The fifth part forms the center.

Each of them has its own color: blue, red, white, yellow, green. Each color is associated with one of the cardinal directions, with one of the Buddhas of contemplation, with one of the sense organs, with one of the mudras (sacred hand position), with one of the mantras (sacred formula for invoking a deity). The adept in the process of contemplation must in turn reproduce in himself everything that is depicted on the M., merge himself with the deity depicted in the center, after which the believer begins the highest stage of contemplation - merging with the cosmic. absolute.

M. is often depicted on the floor and on the ceiling of the temple. They can be planar and embossed, they are painted on fabric and sand, made of metal, stone, wood, and in Tibet they are even cut out of oil, painting the latter in the appropriate ritual colors. M. in the form of a metal dish, on which temple visitors put their offerings (money, matches, sweets), also has the corresponding sacred signs: a deity or his substitute is depicted in the center, which can be a vajra, mythical. Mount Meru as the center of the buddhas. cosmology, the palace of the "ideal monarch" chakravartin. All this is interspersed with buddha symbols: lotus flowers, a vase with a drink of immortality, a wheel with 8 spokes (a symbol of the eightfold path offered to humanity by the Buddha), a shell, spiraled to the right, etc.

As a model of the Universe, M. has analogies with other places of worship and human objects. stories - ziggurats of Ancient Babylon, megalithic. structures such as Stonehenge, shaman tambourines of the peoples of Siberia. A similar geometric the scheme underlies temple architecture not only in Buddhism, but also in Christianity and Islam 3 .

1 Podosinov A.V.Ex oriente Lux! Orientation to the cardinal points in the archaic cultures of Eurasia. M., 1999, p. 106-111, 280-281

2 Toporov V.N. Mandala// Myths of the peoples of the world. T.2. M., 1992, p.100-102
3 Zhukovskaya N.L. Mandala// Buddhism: Dictionary. M., 1992, p. 174-175.

In Buddhism, this word has a number of additional meanings: a dish for offering in ritual practice; mystical diagram, a symbolic image of the Buddhist universe, the universe. The main meaning of the term "mandala" in esoteric Buddhism is a dimension, a world. The mandala is a symbolic image of the pure land of the buddhas, in other words, it is an image of the world of salvation.

Mandala as a symbolic image of the Buddhist universe is a circle inscribed in a square, which in turn is inscribed in a circle. The outer circle is the Universe, the inner circle is the dimension of deities, bodhisattvas, buddhas. Buddhas, bodhisattvas and gods hold ritual attributes in their hands. These objects, as well as the forms and postures of deities, symbolically express the enlightened activity of realized beings, their abilities. The place on the mandala of this or that Buddha or Bodhisattva also corresponds to his most pronounced ability. This ability or enlightened activity is associated with one of the five pure wisdoms, symbolized by color and position on the mandala. The five depicted buddhas or bodhisattvas symbolize the unity of the five wisdoms as aspects of spiritual Awakening. Sometimes images of Buddhas and deities are replaced with images of their root symbols, syllables whose sounds express the dimensions of these deities. The mandala has a center and four directions corresponding to the four cardinal directions. The square of the mandala, oriented to the cardinal points, has T-shaped exits on each side - the gates to the Universe. The field of the square is divided into four parts. The fifth part forms the center. Each of the five parts has its own color: blue corresponds to the center, white to the east, yellow to the south, red to the west, green to the north. Each color is also associated with one of the Dhyani Buddhas - the head of the family (genesis), to which the depicted creature belongs: blue corresponds to Vairocana, white to Akshobhya, yellow to Ratnasambhava, red to Amitabha, green to Amoghasiddha.

In the process of meditation at the stage of generation, the practitioner mentally reproduces in his mind everything that is depicted on the mandala, identifying himself with the deity depicted in its center. Mandalas can be either two-dimensional, depicted on a plane, or three-dimensional, embossed. They are painted on fabric, sand, colored powders and made of metal, stone, wood. They can even be carved from butter, painting it in the appropriate ritual colors. Mandalas are often depicted on the floors, walls and ceilings of temples. Some of the mandalas are made from colored powders for certain ritual practices (for example, in the Kalachakra initiation). By the end of the ritual, the creation is destroyed.

Quite often, new members of the Harmonisarium ask the question "what is a mandala?".
In Sanskrit, a mandala is a circle, disk, wheel, sphere, ball, country, territory, society, and much more that can be described by these meanings. In Buddhism, a mandala is also the concept of the Buddhist world, the sphere of dwelling of deities, the Universe, and a number of ritual images and symbols.

I’ll make a reservation right away that our Friday Mandala does not have any religious character, it is rather a pleasant entertainment with a slight art-therapeutic effect. :)

The mandala is a circle inscribed in a square, which in turn is inscribed in a circle. The outer circle is the Universe, the inner circle is the dimension of deities, bodhisattvas (a being with an awakened consciousness), buddhas (enlightened).

The mandala has a center and four directions corresponding to the four cardinal directions. The square of the mandala, oriented to the cardinal points, has T-shaped exits on each side - the gates to the Universe. The field of the square is divided into four parts. The fifth part forms the center.

Each of the five parts has its own color: blue corresponds to the center, white to the east, yellow to the south, red to the west, green to the north.

One of the Buddhist rituals, the Kalachakra initiation, involves the creation of a mandala from colored sand or powder, accompanied by prayers.

The first action of the ritual, of course, is the prayer and blessing of colored sand, tools and a special table for building a mandala. Then the monks proceed to mark the surface of the table.

The central and diagonal lines are applied with a white thread, which must be woven by young girls and bought without bargaining. This thread is lowered into the white sand of fine grinding, then the monks pull it over the surface of the mandala, slightly lift it in the middle and release it. A white mark remains on the surface of the table. The remaining lines are applied with chalk, pencils and rulers. The monks create all complex decorative elements without preliminary drawing.

Immediate formation intricate patterns the mandala occurs with the help of a metal cone (chakpu) and a hard yak horn. In the cone, which has an uneven, ribbed surface in the middle part, the monks pour sand of the desired color.

Rubbing this surface with a yak horn or other hard material, the monks create a vibration, due to which the sand pours out in an even stream through a small hole. The flow of sand is controlled by the speed of friction and the degree of pressure on the chakpa.

Sand is specially prepared and placed in containers on the table. The color of some of the sand remains natural, but a fairly large amount of colored sand is usually used. different colors and shades, with the addition of ground spices, herbs, minerals.

Sometimes not sand is used, but stone particles obtained by crushing and grinding. The size of the sand varies. Coarse-grained sand is used to fill the background, fine - to draw small details and patterns.

A sand mandala is usually created by two or four monks, starting from the center and gradually expanding the picture. Each circle - the level of the drawing - must be completed completely before the monks proceed to the next stage of work. At the same time, work should be carried out with concentration, without haste, but not too slowly.

In the process of meditation at the stage of creating a complex mosaic composition, the practitioner mentally reproduces in his mind everything that is depicted on the mandala, identifying himself with the deity depicted in its center.

Monks who are not directly involved in the creation of the mandala mosaic conduct various ceremonies, the meaning of which is to purify the space and accumulate positive potential. Usually these rituals are accompanied by singing and playing musical instruments.

The creation of a mandala can take several days. But when the mandala is completed - the process of meditation and knowledge of the divine is completed, the mandala must be destroyed. The meaning of this destruction is to demonstrate the idea of ​​the impermanence of everything that exists.

After regular prayers and appeals to the deities, one of the monks symbolically breaks open the entrances from all four corners of the world, after which the mosaic image is swept away with a special broom. Mixed grains of sand collected in a heap in the center of the table are poured into a ritual bowl.

The art of creating sand mosaics - mandalas - has been brought to perfection by Buddhist monks. Exquisite patterns and fine lines, together with improvised details, create a magical look. perfect world. A world that must be destroyed. Maybe only in order to create a new mosaic - a mandala - in the same place after a while.

See how different, but always complex, mandalas are:

Mandala

(Skt.; Tib. khyilkhor, "universality", literally "center and circumference"). This word has several meanings:

The Buddha's power field arising from the innumerable possibilities of space, or an image of such a field. In a broader sense, this term also means the force field of a person or group;

The mentally imagined universe full of jewels that we present to the Buddhas by performing the mandala offering is the third part of the fundamental exercises;

A metal disk used when offering a mandala.

The mandala is one of the main symbols in Buddhist mythology; a ritual object embodying a symbol; a type of ritual offering [Toporov 1991:338]. The image of the mandala came to the symbolism of Buddhism from ancient Indian mythology, but in Buddhism the mandala (in the meaning of "universality") began to symbolize the field of one or another Buddha or bodhisattva, his Pure Land. The symbolism of the mandala is contained in an important Vajrayana ritual object - a diamond scepter (Skt. vajra; Tib. Dorje), etc.
Mandala as a symbol of the Pure Land
In its objective expression, the mandala can look like a kind of “plan” of such a Pure country: it can be depicted as two-dimensional, colored or black and white, built from fine colored sand in the course of lengthy rituals. Or it can represent a large three-dimensional Palace of one or another Buddha or Great Bodhisattva. The space of the mandala consists of four sectors oriented to the cardinal points and a center. In the center, in a lotus flower, the main figure or its symbol is placed, which speaks of who the mandala is dedicated to. This fivefold structure of the mandala corresponds to the five buddha families and the five kinds of wisdom. To get into such a palace, to its center, means to achieve Enlightenment. To do this, you need to go through one of the four gates: transform one of the main disturbing emotions and realize the corresponding kind of wisdom, due to which other disturbing feelings are also transformed. Each sector is painted in the appropriate color and oriented to the cardinal points in accordance with ancient Indian ideas: the west is at the top, the east is at the bottom, the south is on the left, and the north is on the right. Thus, the structure of the mandala, like the structure of the dorje, corresponds to the Buddhist ideas about the micro- and macrocosm, its inner and outer worlds [Shimanskaya 2009: 487]. In general, this palace symbolizes the original wisdom of the Buddha, the enlightened state of mind. The graphic representation of the mandala is a diagram of the same palace unfolded on a plane [Shymanskaya 2009: 486]. Every detail: the symmetrical proportions of the four gates, the surrounding walls, the colors and attributes, everything has a deep symbolic meaning and characterizes the qualities of the enlightened mind of the Buddha, awakening the corresponding qualities in the mind of the meditator. The Buddhist stupa - the force field of the Buddha - can be seen as a mandala.
Meditation practices, rituals In Tibetan Buddhism, there are various rituals and meditation practices associated with mandalas.

Mandala Offering For example, the third of the practices of the Four Foundations (Tib. Ngöndro) is the Mandala Offering. This meditation uses the likeness of a bowl, symbolizing the disk of the earth and decorated with the Eight Auspicious Symbols. During meditation, a ritual is performed when the mandala is filled with barley or rice, jewelry and other substances - symbols of the richness and fullness of the experience of the universe. Such a mandala is offered to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for the benefit of all beings, and due to this, a powerful accumulation of positive impressions occurs in the mind of the practitioner.
Sand mandalas Of particular interest are the meditative rituals of constructing sand mandalas. The construction of a sand mandala requires filigree skill and the coherence of the work of the monks, who create it together, simultaneously from the center to the periphery, from the four cardinal points. In the center is always the symbol of the main Buddha or Bodhisattva of the mandala. For example, in the mandala of Avalokiteshvara, this is the symbol of the Buddha-family Padma (Skt. lotus) of Buddha Amitabha - the inner eight-petal lotus. The palace itself with adjacent territories rests on a huge multi-colored outer lotus of sixty-four petals. Around the central symbol on the petals of the lotus are the symbols of four more Buddha families: the Vajra, the Jewel, the Wheel of Dharma, and the sword in flames. Red lotus petals indicate the four cardinal directions: north, south, east and west with four entrances to the mandala palace. They are surrounded by rings of golden vajras. The blue background, on which the golden vajras are drawn, symbolizes the void nature of all phenomena, (Skt. dharmadhatu), and the vajras themselves - the comprehension of this nature. Since the symbolism of the mandala is unusually complex, only some of its elements are considered here. At the same time, its general meaning, as in other works of art of Buddhism, is the timeless light of the mind, Enlightenment, which can be reached along any of the paths (the image of the four gates to the Buddha's palace), depending on the prevailing tendencies of the mind. Along with the purification of the dominant affect, the rest gradually disappear. The transformation of the four affects into wisdom entails the disappearance of the fifth - the root of samsaric existence - ignorance, thus Enlightenment is achieved.
Literature: Toporov V.N. Dictionary entries // Mythological Dictionary, edited by E.M. Meletinsky, M., 1991. Shimanskaya A.A. Monuments of Buddhist culture in the process of museum communication // Vajrayana Buddhism in Russia: history and modernity. St. Petersburg, 2009 - P.480-488

The classic mandala is a symbolic image of the Universe as a pure land of Enlightened Beings (Buddhas), in the center of which is the sacred Mount Meru - the abode of the Creator, called Adi-Buddha, and all the worlds of Buddhist cosmology are displayed on the sides. This mystical diagram of the Worlds is a circle inscribed in a square, which, in turn, is inscribed in a circle.

The outer circle is the Universe, the inner circle is the world of deities, bodhisattvas, buddhas. Sometimes images of Buddhas and deities are replaced with images of their root symbols, syllables whose sounds express the dimensions of these deities. Buddhas, bodhisattvas and gods hold the enlightened activity of these beings, their abilities. This ability is associated with one or another of the five wisdoms, symbolically expressed by color and location on the mandala. The five depicted buddhas or bodhisattvas symbolize the unity of the five wisdoms as symbols of spiritual Awakening.

The mandala has a center and four directions corresponding to the cardinal directions. Dhyani Buddhas are located in the center and on each of the main sides of the mandala. The square of the mandala, oriented to the cardinal points, has T-shaped exits on each side - the gates to the Universe. The field of the square is divided into four parts. The fifth part forms the center.

The Kailash complex is a huge natural mandala. It has a center (top), associated with a giant world column, connecting our physical world with the skies of the spiritual world and its cosmic base - Adi-Buddha. The top of the mountain is the first body of the Buddha - svabhavikakaya. The Kailash Mandala also has a square (the base of the mountain), whose faces (walls) are oriented to the four cardinal points, and also have T-shaped exits (approaches) to their planes. These four Persons have their own color and their own energy element. They are also associated with one of the Dhyani Buddhas, manifesting the Second Body of the Buddha, the Dharmakaya.

Further from its center, a unique natural mandala is represented by eight mountains directly adjacent to Kailash. That is how many mountains are a kind of continuation of Kailash. In the south there are two shoulder-ridges of the inner mountain and Nandi. In the west, there are two ridge-shoulders, covering the Enclosed Valley at the Western Face of Kailash. In the north - Vajrapani, Chenrezig. To the east is the stone mirror of the Valley of Life and Death. They minifest the Third body of the Buddha - sambhogakaya.

These "shoulders" of Kailash form the eight Sacred Valleys:

1. Eastern valley of the inner crust;
2. Western valley of the inner crust;
3. The valley between the western ridge of the inner crust and the Enclosed Valley at the Western Face of Kailash;
4. Enclosed Valley at the Western Face of Kailash;
5. Valley between Mount Vajrapani and Enclosed Valley;
6. Valley at the North Face of Kailash;
7. Symmetrical Valley;
8. Mirror of the Valley of Life and Death.

The outer circle of the giant mandala is the deep river valleys surrounding this fantastic complex. It is associated with the inhabited universe, and it is through it that the route of the outer crust passes. The fourth body of the Buddha, the Nirmanakaya, is “poured” here.

Note that the central part of the Kailash Mandala is an eight-petalled lotus, in the center of which is the sacred Kailash.

It is believed that the Kailash Mandala is a unique mirror-pyramidal complex that receives cosmic energy-information flows descending to the Earth, transforms them, and also radiates flows coming from the Earth. This is the most powerful receiving-transmitting space antenna, tuned, among other things, to the characteristic size of the Earth (the height is a multiple of the polar radius of the planet). It can be said that this is a matrix of the energy-informational structure of the Universe and man, presented in stone, created by nature, which appears as its likeness or fractal (part). The holistic mechanism of the Universe, working on our planet!

In the Mandala of Kailash, the structure of our world is fully manifested. We can say that it is a projection of the structure of the multidimensional and infinite Universe in our three-dimensional world. The amazing value of this is that everything manifested is not made by hands, created by Nature itself, by the Creator himself millions of years ago, preserving the deep volume of unique universal information.

Kailash carries certain vibrations that allow you to activate the energy centers of a person, “tune and adjust” his dense and subtle bodies and significantly accelerate spiritual development.

If you look at a satellite image of the entire mountainous region of Kailash, you can easily see that its forms stand out sharply from the surrounding mountain formations. The Kailash knot looks like an intricate tie of mountain ranges of the same height. It is similar to the pattern that the Great Seal of the Eastern Sovereign leaves on hot sealing wax.

No matter how many millennia pass, the mandala of the Seal of the Creator is unchanged in time. Human civilizations have changed and will continue to change, but the Code of Laws of their life remains the same. The main thing in it is to follow the path of spiritual perfection in order to comprehend the Universal Wisdom and the evolution of one's Essence.