Tibet
14th century
Tibet
14th century
Mandalas play an important part in Buddhist practices, symbolizing the cosmos as the divine palace of a deity who commands his or her retinue. Whether created in paint or in sand, mandalas can take the form of two-dimensional images that depict the divine abode as a geometric diagram, or three-dimensional architectural structures and ritual items in offerings. Practitioners use mandalas to help visualize the awakened beings who dwell there, in order to evoke their power and gain similar dominion over their own minds. This mandala is focused on the meditational deity Guhyasamaja, who is a form of the Buddha Akshobhyavajra, the Unshakable Vajra. He and the deities who surround him are the so-called directional buddhas, with Vairochana in the East, Ratnasambhava in the South, Amitabha in the West, and Amoghasiddhi in the North. They represent the enlightened qualities and wisdom of the five constituents (skandhas) of the human body and mind, which practitioner develops through the practices of visualization, meditation, and ritual.
Prescribed practices that carry symbolic meaning and value within a specific tradition and are intended to attain a desired outcome. Rituals are usually done as part of a ceremony or regular routine.
A religious movement that originated in India around the fifth to seventh century with sacred writings and esoteric teachings and practices transmitted from teacher to student through initiation. These remain an important part of Hinduism and Buddhism today.
A contemplative practice in which a person uses concentration and visualization to achieve aims such as transforming the mind and generating feelings of compassion. Techniques include focusing on breathing or visualizing oneself as a deity.
A geometrically shaped tool used for meditation and visualization in Buddhist practice. It is a representation of the palace of a deity and the Buddhist conception of the cosmos.
Today, Tibetans primarily inhabit the Tibetan Plateau, situated between the Himalayan mountain range and the Indian subcontinent to the west, Chinese cultural regions to the east, and Mongolian cultural regions to the northeast. During the 7th to 9th century, Tibetan rulers expanded their empire across Central Asia, and established Buddhism as the state religion.
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