mandala

The Sanskrit word Mandala means, "circle" in the ordinary sense of the word.
The mandala is fundamentally a visual construct that is easily grasped by the eye, for it corresponds to the primary experience as well as to the structure of the organ. The pupil of the eye is a simple mandala form.

In the sphere of religious practices and in psychology it denotes circular images, which are drawn, painted, modeled, or danced. Structures of this kind are to be found in Tibetan Buddhism, and as dance figures these circular patterns occur also in Dervish monasteries. As psychological phenomena they appear spontaneously in dreams, in certain states of conflict, and in certain states of schizophrenia. Frequently they contain a quarternity or a multiple of four, in the form of a cross, a star, etc. In alchemy the motif is in the form of a quandratura circuli. In the Tibetan Buddhism the figure has the significance of a ritual instrument (yantra), whose purpose is to assist meditation and concentration.

Often the mandala archetype is an attempt at self-healing of the part of a person or a community. Whereas ritual mandala always display a definite style and a limited wealth of motifs and symbolic allusions, from which it can easily be seen that they are endeavoring to express either the totality of the individual in his inner or outer experience of the world, or its essential point of reference.

The process of the Navaho sand painting offers many parallels to the Tibetan mandala ritual and yantra: all are by nature a complete meditation, with the mind in a certain perspective. The formal similarity when researched reveals the center and proceeding from that point outward. The mandala has appeared throughout history as a universal and essential symbol of integration, harmony, and transformation. It brings form to the primordial intuition of nature and common to human cultures.

To the western world, the popular reintroduction of the mandala concept can be specifically traced to the work of Carl G. Jung, who rediscovered the mandala as a basic structural device in the alchemical tradition of the West, and as an integrative art form used by individuals as part of a process he called individuation. Jung related the idea of the mandala as a therapeutic device to the mandala as ritual, meditative technique conducive to exaltation.

In his Memories, Dreams, and Reflections, Jung tells of how he painted the first Mandala, in 1916, but it was not until 1919 that he began to fully understand the drawings. "I sketched every morning in the notebook a small circular drawing, a Mandala, which seemed to correspond to my inner situation at the time. With the hope of these drawings I could observe my psychic transformations from day to day. Only gradually did I discover what the Mandala really is: Formation, Transformation, Eternal Recreation (Faust II) and that is the self, the wholeness of the personality, which if all goes well is harmonious, but which cannot tolerate self-deceptions."

Literature concerning the mandala is not extensive. Most of it deals with the mandala as a sacred art form are from the Orient, and although Jung has related the mandala to many cultures from around the world, no one has developed a concept of its universality to any great extent. Many of the European cathedrals were designed with mandala as the form used in the stained glass work. This has been a tradition that continued in the United States and other countries around the world. Contemporary architecture has, for the most part, moved away from using the circle as a motif, much to the dismay of many people. There are many that find harmony inherent in the design, hence the popularity of the Labyrinth at such Cathedrals as Trinity Church in San Francisco.

If you were always drawn to the circle as an attractive design, the idea is that this basic archetypal image is part of our collective unconscious and brings certain solitude by way of its presence.

There are a number of books written on the subject of the mandala, including a book written by Jung himself titled Mandalas Symbolism, translated by R.F.C. Hull. Other titles include Mandalas of the World: A Meditation Painting Guide by Ryduger Dahlke, Mandala by Jose and Miriam Argnelles, and Mandala: The Architecture of Enlightenment by Denise Patry Leidy and Robert A.F. Thurman.


1. Memories, Dreams, Reflections, by C. J. Jung, recorded and edited by Aniela Jaffe, translation by Richard and Clara Winston. ( New York: Pantheon Books, 1963 )


Ron Teachworth is a qualified MBTI consultant from Michigan, who works largely in education, but has had numerous exhibitions of drawings and assemblages based on the mandala as the theme.

http://www.ronteachworth.com/mandAbt.html