Literature and Medicine

^ The Buddhist Mándala Richard B. Pilgrim The integrative, symmetrical mandalic pattern is universal and, as such, expresses a common human interest in holistic orderings. However, specific religious traditions often refine these symbolic orderings into complex systems of meaning and use them in a variety of ritual practices. One very important example is the esoteric (tantric) form of Buddhism found both in the Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism of Tibet and the Far East. Here, mándalas in great variety not only express important beliefs typical of Buddhism but also serve important functions in ritual and meditative practices. The mándala patterns are pervasive where these forms of Buddhism are active. They are found painted on scrolls, carved in stone, and worked into architectural plans. They are expressed, moreover, in iconographie figures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, abstract designs of highly symbolic nature , or calligraphic letters representing the sacred sound syllables of Sanskrit. Whatever the complex variety and meaning of these mándalas, however , it is their function in meditative practices that is most important. Mándalas are not merely a decorative religious art form or a visual theology, though they are that too. Their fundamental function is to give focus to specific forms of Buddhist yoga in which mental concentration and/or visualization techniques are stimulated and directed toward what Buddhism refers to as "enlightenment" (bodhi). Assuming that our normal subject/object modes of knowing produce egoism and alienation, the whole process is designed to "empty" or "open" (sunyata) the subject/object mind so it might become directly aware of what Buddhism calls "thusness" (tathata) and thereby be healed and made whole. While the focus of this healing is primarily mental, psychological, and spiritual, these traditions often claim bodily healing as well. Since, for Buddhism , body and mind are essentially one, the body is "saved" in the process as well. (In fact, magical practices have grown up around the use of mándalas whereby mándala practices are thought to cure disease!) Whatever the specific character of bodily "healing" that may be claimed, however, mandalic practice is designed to aid the practitioner in realizing an essential body/mind/world unity and being "saved" thereby. Literature and Medicine 8 (1989) 36-^1 © 1989 by The Johns Hopkins University Press Richard B. Pilgrim 37 Figure 1. The Mándala of the Ûrïcakra. A mándala of graphic design representing the esoteric views of the Säkta School in Hindu Tantrism. Further information on the highly abstruse meaning of this mándala can be found in Giuseppe Tucci, The Theory and Practice of the Mándala, trans. Alan Houghton Brodrick (New York: Samuel Weiser, 1970), 137-40. From Giuseppe Tucci, The Theory and Practice of the Mándala, Plate3. Reproduced with permission of Samuel Weiser, York Beach, Maine 03910, and Century Hutchinson Publishing Group, Ltd., London. 38 THE BUDDHIST MÕ NDALA Figure2.TheMándalaoftheThreeAuspiciousPatrons.Thisisthecenterofa larger mándala used in the tantric Buddhism of Tibet. The three "patrons" depicted are the Bodhisattvas Manjushri, Vajrapani, and Avalokiteshvara. They, in turn, are iconic representations of wisdom, power, and compassion, respectively. For further information about this mándala, see Blanche Christine Olschak and Geshé Thupten Wangyal, Mystic Art of Ancient Tibet (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1973), 36-37. From Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra , A New Tibeto-Mongol Pantheon (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1967), Part 13, Table 1. Reproduced with permission of the International Academy of Indian Culture. Richard B. Pilgrim 39 Figure3.MandalicGroundPlan:Borobudur.Thearchitecturalgroundplans of the great Buddhist temple of Borobudur (Indonesia) reveal a mandalic pattern representing the "three realms" or "three worlds" of Buddhist thought: The outer base is the realm of the passions (kama), the middle steps represent the realm of form without desires (rupa), and the inner circular dome is the formless realm (arupa). From Pierre Rambach, The Secret Message of Tantric Buddhism, trans. Barbara Bray (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1979), 18. Reproduced with permission of Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. 40 THE BUDDHIST MÕ NDALA THE WOMB MÕ NDALA S>1*s iïl}Õ W%?· fetÄit:^ 1 liä^ileiiilll^^I m é mwt f i§ ^ m» !asi ·ψϕ.ίί-Ψ>Ε^,'ff.y^mwm'''ismMiSMiW-mm m if* S34«?*S SIKW...