mandala

The mandala is an intricate symmetrical design associated with Hinduism or Buddhism and used as a meditation aid. This mandala is in Spituk, a 1,000-year-old Buddhist monastery in Ladakh, India.

Symmetrical sacred design in Hindu and Buddhist art, representing the universe, and the relationship of humans with the cosmos. It is used in some forms of meditation. It may be painted or made of coloured sand.

Mandalas are often in the form of a richly diversified and elaborate painting in brilliant colours and are made up of one circle or a number of concentric circles, sometimes with a square at the centre that represents the earth. They are intended to be visualized as three-dimensional.

The mandala is important in Buddhism, especially Tibetan Mahāyāna Buddhism, to put adherents in touch with their own dormant powers through concentration and visualization practices. Typically, the Vairocana (primordial) Buddha is at the centre with other Buddhas and bodhisattvas arranged around him in symbolically significant placings, and enclosed within a square and a circle. A mandala is usually painted on fabric but there are also temporary mandalas made of coloured sand.