Yantra Meditation

Yantra Meditation

As you look at the yantra, allow your eyes to focus on its center. This dot in the center is called the Bindu, which represents the unity that underlies all the diversity of the physical world.

Now allow your eyes to see the triangle that encloses the Bindu. The downward pointing triangle represents the feminine creative power, while the upward facing triangle represents male energy.

Allow your vision to expand to include the circles outside of the triangles. They represent the cycles of cosmic rhythms. The image of the circle embodies the notion that time has no beginning and no end. The farthest region of space and the innermost nucleus of an atom both pulsate with the same rhythmic energy of creation. That rhythm is within you and without you.

Bring your awareness to lotus petals outside the circle. Notice that they are pointing outwards, as if opening. They illustrate the unfolding of our understanding. The lotus also represents the heart, the seat of the Self. When the heart opens, understanding comes.

The square at the outside of the yantra represents the world of form, the material world that our senses show us, the illusion of separateness, of well defined edges and boundaries. At the periphery of the figure are four T-shaped portals, or gateways. Notice that they point toward the interior of the yantra, the inner spaces of life. They represent our earthly passage from the external and material to the internal and sacred.

Now take a moment to gaze into the yantra, letting the different shapes and patterns emerge naturally, allowing your eyes to be held loosely in focus. Gaze at the center of the yantra on the page. Without moving your eyes, gradually begin to expand your field of vision. Continue expanding your vision until you are taking in information from greater than 180 degrees. Notice that all this information was there all along, you just became aware of it. 

Now slowly reverse the process by re-focusing back to the center of the yantra. Now gently close your eyes. You may still see the yantra in your mind’s eye. The patterns of creativity represented by these primordial shapes express the fundamental forces of nature. They govern the world and they govern you.

Mandalas in Architecture

The Buddist stupa

In architecture the Buddhist stupa is the oldest and most prevalent form to reflect the structure and flow of the mandala. Stupas are a dome shaped structure designed to hold sacred relics.

You can also see the structural representation of a mandala in the construction of most cathedrals and churches of 12th century. These are structures build around a center point and include beautiful stained glass rose windows. These windows reflect a great spiritual presence. 

Mandalas in Nature

Mandala designs in nature can be found in something as simple as a flower. The flower has a center and surrounding that center are beautiful petals. The inside structure of a snail's shell is a spiral that twists into the center. Even the rings found inside tree trunks can be looked upon as a mandala, as each ring graduates toward the center. 

Our solar system can be considered a mandala form as each planet is part of and revolves around a center planet. For example the Milky Way galaxy our solar system holds within it our Earth.

Even microscopic cells each have a center or nucleus. The wholeness created in anything with a center that then radiates outward and inward is the basis of the mandala structure. 

Flower Mandala

www.mandalas-world.com 

Pink wheel Mandala

Pink wheel Mandala is an original acrylic painting with crystals. Size is 29 x 29 cm. It represents the wheel of transformation.

The wheel (Skt. chakra; Tib. 'khor lo) is one of the most important Buddhist symbols, as it represents the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha was the one who "turned the wheel of the dharma" and thus the wheel symbol is the Dharmachakra, or "wheel of law." The Tibetan term for this symbol, chos kyi'khor lo, means "the wheel of transformation."

Pink wheel Mandala is available as a original painting, as a giclee print or as a poster. 

Mandala gallery nine

www.mandalas-world.com 

The Sacred Art of Sand Mandala

 Sand Mandala

Mandala means literally “that which extracts the essence.” There are many different types of mandalas used by Tibetan Buddhists. They can be created in either two or three dimensions. On the tour the monks create two-dimensional sand mandalas. These are the most creative and labor-intensive, requiring incredible amounts of concentration.

Each sand mandala is a cosmic diagram that represents the dwelling place or celestial mansion of a deity. The Menla mandala, for example, represents the dwelling of the Medicine Buddha, who embodies the perfection of the physical and mental health of all beings. There are multi‑layered symbolic images throughout the ‘palace,’ where iconography, placement, and color all have significance. Additionally, to the learned Tibetan Buddhist monk, the mandala represents his vision of the entire universe.

According to Tibetan Buddhist history, the purpose, meaning and the techniques involved in the spiritual art of the sand mandala creation were taught by Buddha Sakyamuni in the 6th century B. C. in India.  Mandalas are created for rituals of initiation and for meditations; it is also created to purify the environment and its inhabitants to promote harmony in the world.

In the past, sand mandalas were made with the powdered results of the grinding of precious stones‑ turquoise, lapis lazuli, coral, powdered gold and silver, and many other cherished and priceless materials. Today white stones are ground and dyed with opaque water colors to produce the bright tones found in the sand paintings.

Depending upon the mandala, it can take between 3 days to 2 weeks to complete. Most of the ones created on the tour are completed in 3 to 5 days. Upon completion of the mandala there is a very special ritual to bless the mandala and it is then ritually dissolved. As a lesson in impermanence the blessed sand is swept up into a pile then small portions are offered to those present. The rest of the sand is taken to a body of water where, after a short ceremony, it is poured into the water to bless and purify the surrounding environment and all sentient beings living there.

Sand Mandala

 

Dragonfly dream Mandala

This is the Dragonfly dream Mandala, inspired with native Indian art. It is an original acrylic painting on paper with crystals, sizes 24,5 x 24,5 cm.


The dragonfly, in almost every part of the world symbolizes change and change in the perspective of self realization; and the kind of change that has its source in mental and emotional maturity and the understanding of the deeper meaning of life.

The traditional association of Dragonflies with water also gives rise to this meaning to this amazing insect. The Dragonfly’s scurrying flight across water represents an act of going beyond what’s on the surface and looking into the deeper implications and aspects of life.

Dragonfly dream Mandala is available as a original painting, as a giclee print or as a poster.

Mandala gallery eight

www.mandalas-world.com

Mandala gallery ten

Purple flower Mandala

Acrylic painting, 29 x 29 cm

Sun flower Mandala

Acrylic painting, 24,4 x 24,5 cm

Mandala gallery ten

Mandala gallery nine

Green moon Mandala

Acrylic painting, 29 x 29 cm

Lace Mandala

Acrylic painting, 21 x 21 cm

Night lily Mandala

Acrylic painting, 29 x 29 cm

Pink wheel Mandala

Acrylic painting, 29 x 29 cm

Mandala gallery nine

Mandala gallery eight

Dragonfly dream Mandala

Acrylic painting, 24,5 x 24,5 cm

Ethno Mandala

Acrylic painting, 29 x 29 cm

Green dream Mandala
Acrylic painting


Mandala gallery eight

Mandala gallery seven

Abstract lotus Mandala

Acrylic painting, 29 x 29cm

Amethyst Mandala

Acrylic painting

Aurora Borealis Mandala
Acrylic painting, 29 x 29 cm

Blue dream Mandala
Acrylic painting

Mandala gallery seven

How Mandalas Heal

Healing Mandala

   According to Buddhist scripture, sand mandalas transmit positive energies to the environment and to the people who view them. While constructing a mandala, Buddhist monks chant and meditate to invoke the divine energies of the deities residing within the mandala. The monks then ask for the deities' healing blessings. A mandala's healing power extends to the whole world even before it is swept up and dispersed into flowing water—a further expression of sharing the mandala's blessings with all. 

 Sand Mandala

Third Chakra - Manipura Chakra

Manipura Chakra

  

 Earth, water, fire. With our bodies grounded and our emotions flowing, we now move on to power, energy and will. This is our third chakra, a yellow lotus of ten petals, located at the solar plexus—the place where we get those butterfly feelings when we feel scared or powerless. Its element is fire—fire—that radiates and transforms matter into energy, giving light and warmth. This chakra represents our "get up and go," our action, our will, our vitality, and our sense of personal power. Its name, Manipura, means "lustrous gem." We can think of it as a glowing yellow Sun, radiating through the center of our body. On the physical plane, the third chakra rules metabolism, the process whereby we turn food (matter) into energy and action. Digestion troubles, stomach troubles, hypoglycemia, diabetes, ulcers, or addictions to stimulants (such as caffeine) are all related to malfunctioning of the third chakra. Weight problems may also be an indication that the body is not properly turning its matter into energy. We can also assess the health of this chakra by examining our body structure at this level: tight, hard stomachs, sunken diaphragms, or large potbellies are all indications of third chakra excess or deficiency. Examining your relationship to the properties of fire can give further clues to the nature of your third chakra. Are you frequently cold, physically or emotionally? Do you get overheated, hot-tempered? Is your style quick and energetic, or slow and lethargic? When the third chakra is closed down, one may feel tired, afraid, shaky, quiet, or withdrawn. There is a fear of taking risks, confronting people or issues, taking charge, and with all this, a lack of energy. There may be too much seriousness and not enough laughter, ease, or fun, all of which help the third chakra open and relax. Pleasure, from the chakra below, helps make the fire warm and easy; without it, our fires are cold and hard. If the chakra is too open, then we have a kind of bully archetype—someone who always needs to be in control, to dominate, to seek power, prestige, ambition. As the lower chakras in general are more ego-oriented, third chakra excess can make a person narcissistic or self-centered. An appropriate concept for a healthy balance in this chakra is the archetype of the warrior—standing strong, staying in touch with feelings, confronting only when appropriate and quietly maintaining a sense of power. A healthy third chakra can take on a task and complete it, take on a risk and not be bound by perfectionism, or act in the role of leadership without domination or self-aggrandizement. In the second chakra we encountered desire. Desire is the fuel for the will, the passion within our body giving strength to decisions made by the mind. Fire is the spark of life that ignites will to action. Fire is the spark that lies between the poles, and the third chakra creates power by combining the polarity introduced by the second chakra, just as electricity is made by the combination of polarities. Having made yet another step toward consciousness, we now temper our desires and instincts with knowledge, making decisions that are then put into action, again combining the poles of mind and body. Power, then, is seen as an act of combination, of joining together parts to make a greater whole. When we embrace and combine all the parts within us—our bodies, our emotions, our visions, our knowledge—then we emerge whole and powerful. A good rule of thumb for stimulating the third chakra is to get your energy moving. Jogging, yelling, or pounding a pillow can help you loosen up.

Manipura Chakra Mandala