The Kalachakra Sand Mandala

The Sand Mandala (tib: kilkhor) is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition which symbolises the transitory nature of things. As part of Buddhist canon, all things material are seen as transitory. A sand mandala is an example of this, being that once it has been built and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are finished, it is systematically destroyed. Download high resolution version (685x683, 155 KB)the Kalachakra Sand Mandala. ... Download high resolution version (685x683, 155 KB)the Kalachakra Sand Mandala. ... The Tibetan language is spoken primarily by the Tibetan people who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia, as well as by large number of Tibetan refugees all over the world. ... Tibetan Buddhism (Simplified Chinese: 藏传佛教) is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, the Himalayan region (including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim and Ladakh), Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia (Russia), and northeastern China (Manchuria: Heilongjiang, Jilin). ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Buddhist mandala Mandala (Sanskrit circle, completion) is a term used to refer to various objects. ... do ya wanna serrrrb? how a bOut a biawtCh? or just sum iinnoCent loOkin SkaNk?? add lido0l_miz_tekno@hotmail. ...

Historically, the mandala was not created with natural, dyed sand, but granules of crushed coloured stone. In modern times, plain white stones are ground down and dyed with opaque inks to achieve the same effect. Before laying down the sand, the monks assigned to the project will draw the geometric measurements associated with the mandala. The sand granules are then applied using small tubes, funnels, and scrapers, until the desired pattern over-top is achieved. Sand mandalas traditionally take several weeks to build, due to the large amount of work involved in laying down the sand in such intricate detail. It is common that a team of monks will work together on the project, creating one section of the diagram at a time, usually working from the center outwards.

The Kalachakra Mandala for instance, contains 722 deities portrayed within the complex structure and geometry of the mandala itself. Other smaller mandalas, like the one attributed to Vajrabhairava contain sufficiently fewer deities and require less geometry, but still take several days to complete. Like all mandalas, these are meant as two-dimensional representations of what is supposed to be a three-dimensional environment. There is one particular case where a three-dimensional mandala can be experienced: Borobodur in Java, Indonesia. Kālacakra (Sanskrit कालचक्र; Tibetan དུས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་ dus kyi khor lo) is a term used in Tantric Buddhism that means time-wheel or time-cycles. It refers both to a Tantric deity (Tib. ... Borobudur from a distance Borobudur, located in the Indonesian island of Java, 40 km (25mi) north-west of Yogyakarta, is a Buddhist stupa related to the Mahayana tradition, and the largest Buddhist monument on earth. ...

The destruction of a sand mandala is also highly ceremonial. Even the deity syllables are removed in a specific order, along with the rest of the geometry until at last the mandala has been dismantled. The sand is collected in a jar which is then wrapped in silk and transported to a river (or any place with moving water), where it is released back into nature. For this reason, the materials in a sand mandala are always biodegradable, and, in keeping with the symbolism are never used twice.

Sand mandala. Drongste Gompa, 1994

The sacred destruction of mandalas may be done in other ways. Some sand mandalas are placed on sidewalks. Often people and children will use the materials provided by the artist to make a sand mandala. The mandala is exposed to the elements in a high traffic public space. In the instance of manhole mandalasand street mandalas, the making and the destruction is also a sacred process. The destruction is partially completed by people who pass by and unknowingly step on the mandala without seeing it. Sometimes, children will play with the sand. Some persons will help it along by scuffing the mandala. The rain, wind and snow will finish the work till not a trace of sand remains. Sometimes the artist will even sweep it up so the sand can be recycled in another street mandala. A natural process. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 527 pixelsFull resolution (884 × 582 pixel, file size: 373 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I took this photo myself in September 1993 and am happy for it to be freely available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 527 pixelsFull resolution (884 × 582 pixel, file size: 373 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I took this photo myself in September 1993 and am happy for it to be freely available. ...

External Links

Image gallery of the construction of a five-and-a-half foot Medicine Buddha sand mandala

Photographs of the construction of a sand mandala in 2004 in Glasgow and the destruction ceremony