Diversity Blog

I attended The Mystical Arts of Tibet's mandala lecture on Wednesday, September 21, at the Memorial Union. The lecture began with five Buddhas chanting/meditating on stage, and then one Buddha began to inform us about the mandala of Avalokileshvara, the Buddha of compassion.  First of all, the mandala is used for mediation purposes only, not religion. It helps relieve stress, reduce depression, and improve mental health. The mandala possesses three meanings, one of which is to enlighten the world. Second, the seven colors demonstrate good ideas and show Buddhas how to use life and defend their educational ideas. In addition, the mandala is indestructible due to its strong elements of fire, water, earth, and wind. The mandala also contains a detail that is called the crossed vajra, which is the foundation on which the mandala is constructed. Furthermore, the mandala contains five colors that represent the five activities of enlightment, and these colors form a circle at the center of the mandala. This circle signifies the unbreakable teaching of the mandala. The five principal colors include white, blue, green, yellow, and red and denote the five family Buddhas. These five Buddhas stand for the elimination of five negative principal mental afflictions. Some of these afflictions include ignorance, attachment, anger, and jealousy. Additionally, another aspect of the mandala is the eight petals that signify three channels; left, right, and center. Moreover, the mandala contains five five-layered, five colored walls that represent the five wisdoms and pure visions. Likewise, the mandala contains four gates at its center that exemplifies actions that benefit others like speaking gently, helping others, and training others. The mandala also contains a square that stands for truth, and each of the points stand for joyfulness, compassion, love, and mental equality. Lastly, the mandala signifies the eleven levels/stages that Buddha’s have to complete to reach the enlightment stage. To reach this final stage, you have to eliminate all negative emotions within yourself. 

In conclusion, I learned numerous facts about the mandala and a Buddha’s way of life and enjoyed attending this lecture. The only downfall was that the speaker's native language was not English, and it was very hard to understand him sometimes. He occasionally didn't talk in complete sentences, which was also very difficult to understand. Minus those minor defects, it was a very interesting and a worthwhile lecture.

        Here is an example of an mandala.