Download Tibetan Mandalas

Tibetan Mandalas
A mandala is a sacred sand
painting done by the Buddhist
Monks of Tibet.
The monks use millions of grains of
brightly colored sand to create the
sand painting.
The ceremony of creating a
mandala takes nine days.
Even monks have to eat!
The mandala:
• Symbolizes the
spirituality of the
universe.
• Is created using
geometric shapes.
• The shapes are
ancient spiritual
symbols.
• Represents a
"map" to help
people enlighten
their minds.
• Transmits positive
energies to the
environment and
to the people who
view them.
The history of mandalas goes back
2,500 years and was a form of art
practiced only by monks.
After the mandala is finished, the
monks who created it destroy it.
The destruction of the mandala is
important to the ceremony because the
destruction of the mandala symbolizes
the impermanence of life.
The mandala sand painting is
returned to the earth by sweeping
into a body of flowing water.
Images provided by the Smithsonian Institute
Available at
http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/mand
ala/default.htm