Returned, Blog 1

Exploring reality, Exploring spiritually.

It seems like the cave exploration was yesterday. The amount of discoveries we made were astonishing. We found tombs carved into the mountain, scriptures of what might have been terma, logs of travellers who stopped at the caves to pay their respects to those entombed, and some strange statues of what seemed to be a local deity.

One thing really struck me though, out of all the things we found. Looking through one of the travellers journals, I seemed to find a place, I’m not sure if it’s real or not, but the scribblings in the journal were talking about an arduous journey to that place. It got me thinking. With my last trip I’d been focusing so much on the destination and achieving something at the end of that journey… when all along I missed the treasures along the way. Being a wanderer like myself, who usually spends days travelling between villages as a small time merchant, or climbs and teaches sherpas how to scale rock, and most importantly being a ritualist, it is extremely important for me to figure out the importance of pilgrimage and travel. It’s been at the back of my mind ever since I read it and I need to improve the way I view travel if I hope to enhance my awareness of the nature of the world around me.

So I packed up my things and I went to see if I could find some information at the newly built library. There I saw my fellow cave explorers bringing piles of papers upon papers of notes they took from the cave or pieces of relics they brought back. Along with those papers were dozens of the village scholars, working hard to translate them. I asked if I could copy some of the translations from the journals of the pilgrims who we found in the cave on our last trip, but I couldn’t seem to understand what they were saying. There were scribblings of achieving perfection and faith and they couldn’t provide me with anymore help. And so I did what I always did. I packed my things and left. A paper in tow, with four words on it. Faith; success; perfection; fellowship.

What did any of those words mean in the context of pilgrimage? I had no idea. Walking all across the village I tried to think of the words while I journeyed from place to place. Still nothing. I ended my journey at the monastery, where the monks were chanting sermons. I joined in on their ritual. Sitting outside, I heard somebody approach me. I turned around to see somebody I’d never seen in the village before. Garbed like he was monastic, he offered his assistance to me.

He didn’t need to ask if I needed help; he knew the nature of confusion and suffering, and somehow he managed to understand that despite my lack of expression of either of those things…almost like he could read my thoughts; or was somehow in my head…Strange thoughts of his nature aside, I asked him about the importance of the pilgrimage. Expecting to hear some ramblings about the four sacred sites to visit as a Buddhist practitioner myself, I was surprised to hear him say that pilgrimage is about an internal state, experienced through external strife.

I was even more shocked when he said the four words; words I have not heard until today, not from any of our monks before. Faith; success; perfecton; and fellowship. I took out the piece of paper I had scrunched up in my satchel. I looked shocked at the paper, then looked up to see him smile and displaying the mudra of earth touching. I wanted to know everything he had to know. I didn’t care who he was or where he came from.

We went to an empty valley next to the village by a river reservoir. Water as blue and deep as the empty space at night, the landscape seemed to swallow my peripheral vision and keep me focused. My lama started to speak. Faith he said, comes with sacrifice. Embarking on a journey is no small task as you know. Your former journey to the mountains took many people did it not? Each of you contributed many resources. Which was true; I had nearly nothing left when I had set out. All my money gone, turned into supplies for the journey. It didn’t seem rational, but the yearning to set out on the journey propelled me to do it anyways.

Why would I give up so much for the journey he asked me. To discover I said. He countered; what good is discovery if you have nothing here? I replied, for the knowledge. Knowledge isn’t nothing. Saddha he said. I was confident that I would learn things; things to enhance my development as a Buddhist. He talked about placing confidence in knowledge and teachings. Knowledge and teachings that would lead to my development were the same as purifying the mind. As development was simply the destruction of illusionary beliefs of the world. Saddha was the faith in teachings to purify ones mind. Faith in the buddhas and their teachings, even through sacrifice. The sacrifice and the process of the journey for knowledge was to create good mental states and aid in the practice of the right thought, right speech and right actions. It was to create an urgency; a devotion; a burning desire in one’s being to learn more and do the right thing. The journey is a reinforcement of this state.

From this desire the prospect of success comes up. Desire-to-do (chanda), mind (citta), effort (viriya) and knowledge (vimansa) were what is said to make up success. The desire coming from the saddha; the desire to sacrifice and travel to heed the teachings of the Buddha. A strong mind is unfettered by the perils of the journey, no matter what situation they fall in, they have a goal in mind and the desire to be enriched. The effort given to the journey and its preparation are sum totaled in finding the reward of the pilgrimage. Knowledge comes from applying aspects of the buddhas understandings and realizations to your travels, until such mental states are reached where one is thinking through the eyes of the buddhas.

Perfection comes from the sacrifice. Sacrifice in all other aspects of life is a window into purity. It says reinforces the humility within ones mind by renouncing the need for materials beyond simple sustenance. It allows one to approach turmoil with a clean, pure, positive thought, expressed through all the challenges of the journey. The journey is a way of embedding the knowledge and experiences of the Buddha, in the way he would think and see the world. Through eyes of a person wandering across the land with nothing, renouncing home and lavish life, risking everything for enlightenment. One reinforces the perfection of thought on the pilgrimage.

Fellowship arises when the journey is with others. I recalled my cave exploration. I hadn’t realized how much I had depended on the others for strength and for support. And over the weeks that we had left, it seemed we had developed bonds. We knew what we were thinking at all times. Yet nobody acknowledged this. I can see where the merit comes from here. The establishment of a connection and understanding. A reinforcement of the ideas of unity and collective prosperity.

So those are the four words. The pilgrimage means so much more now. I thanked my teacher for his lessons. But I had one more question. Who was he anyways? Why have I never seen or heard of him in the village before? I opened my eyes to ask; breaking my meditative state, looking around to see something; but when I open my eyes, I realized he was gone. The sun was down, and all I could see was the deep hue of blue in the river as I stared off into space. When I awoke I went back to the monastery looking for my teacher. I described him, and none of the other monks had said they had ever seen that person before. At least not in real life. And not within the last thousand years. Atop a hill the monks led me outside. To a place in nature where the elements seemed to be in balance.

A few monks were in deep concentration; pouring grains of coloured sand into a square. I knew what this was. A mandala. They were in the middle of making it. In the center of the brightly coloured rays of light I could see the outline of a palace with spirits inside. Inside the palace, next to the blue dais, I saw him…my teacher. Sudden feelings of overwhelming urge to leave hit me like a train; and without a moment of hesitation I sprang up, away from the monks and started walking.

“Where are you going?” They asked.

“That’s not important.” I said.

Returned Blog 2

My New Year’s Resolution

I haven’t been at the village for a while now. Between the expedition of the caves, then coming back to learn the true meaning of pilgrimage and embarking on travels to several scared sites, and just out on my own into the wilderness, it has been weeks and weeks. Each time I return for some mundane supplies, all my friends consistently greet me with “OH hey you’re back! We thought you were dead.” To which I laugh, and usually respond with “I have been reborn then it may seem.”

All jokes aside though, much time has passed and it’s almost the beginning of the new year! Since I first arrived I always noted the importance that the new year had in the village. Practices I thought were of simple celebratory purposes turned out to have more meaning. Like the flags that we put up at the peaks of mountains by the village. They turned out to be for more than just decoration. In fact they have important ritualistic meaning to them! And so as a more dedicated ritualist, I think it’s about time that I got to understand more of our new years celebration practices.

The new years or Losar as it’s called here, I’m told is a very significant day. Though it usually changes, it’s usually in concordance with the new full moon in spring. I am told that it is on this night that all the actions of people in the village have special energies. They will karmically repeat and reverberate over and over until the next Losar. That means that the karma from the actions of the villagers on this day will stick throughout the new year and dictate how the year is for them. Pretty significant if you ask me. And so most people try to make the best of the new years around here.

There are many ceremonies and celebrations people take part in. There’s the creation of effigies, and the destruction of others. Ceremonial dancing is everywhere, and there are even full on reenactments or plays of important events. Costumes are found all over town, and elaborate furs are worn and scents are dispersed throughout the village.

Being an avid climber, the first celebration I took interest in was in the placing of the flags atop the mountain peaks that surrounded the village. It was a journey to be made, and not an easy one at that. And so I prepared myself mentally and bought materials to prepare for a journey that I’d make with some of my other climber friends. A lot of them were natives here to the village and had been here far longer than I had. So it was to them I presented my question over the nature of putting the flags on the highest points we could find. According to them, tradition has it that prayer flags and offerings made that high up can easily reach the Gods! That is also really convenient and practical too for our decorating; as it puts the flags up in places for all to behold.

Upon the summit of the mountain we adorned the flags, and recited a little prayer for good luck in the new year. That’s when I thought I saw the shape of a person; confused I squinted. I noticed it wasn’t just any person. It was the lama that had visited our village a couple of weeks before. What was he doing so high up though? My friends were just as confused as I was, and as we descended, darkness fell upon the land and I felt like the land was foreign and new. Still I walked in with good spirit, in order to make sure that the village experienced that prosperity throughout the year even through all uncertainty. I could see a fire in the distance. As I approached the village, I saw a group of monks outside crafting effigies. Some of the effigies looked benevolent, while others looked malicious and demonic. As inviting as it was to ask about the effigies, I had to first ask why I had seen the lama atop the high mountains around the village. The monks said that he was in a deep meditative trance, and would remain there until the next full moon. Given the effect of karmic reverberation from the new year, the lama takes the opportunity to give prayers for the new world, and will take full advantage of the duration in which they take most effect, and being higher up and closer to the gods, they may heed his prayers of good fortune.

That being cleared in my mind, I could finally ask about the importance of the effigies; as well as what the strange fire was I saw in the village. They explained what the effigies were to me; some of them were protector spirits and guardians, while others were spirits of ill fortune. They said the fires were probably coming from an effigy, as a way to ward off the ill spirits is to burn their effigies. The effigies of the good spirits on the other hand will be placed throughout the village.

As well as the creation of the effigies, the village was full of dancing. Some of it was joyous and clearly lacking in precision, but others danced in a more choreographed way it seemed. At the center of town, a dramatic presentation of the banishment of demons was being given. Highly precise dances and chanting were part of the show as well. The steps of the dance were meant to put protective spikes into the ground. These spikes would keep away forces that would bring bad fortune to the town. One main dancer in the center danced in a ferocious manner, very energetic and bore a mask.

I am told he was a representation of a god, with many other masked dancers wearing robes with fancy hats. They looked like sorcerers and warriors at that. I hear chanting in the background. A monk beside me tells me they tell the tale of the buddha’s defeat of ignorance greed and aggression.

Around the end of the celebrations, I follow much of the village to the summit of the mountain. There we all release balloons, and burn incense. All of which flow up the mountain and ward off any further spirits. It is then that I see the monks come in with a huge elaborate statue. My jaw drops when I see it. A statue that has to be at least eighty feet tall is rolled to the base of the mountain. Made of a beautiful bronze and decorated with gold, this protective spirit is put up as one of the final ceremonies of the new year.

My favorite part of the celebration is upon returning home. For the feast is a foot! And nothing could be more delightful to eat than the delicious butter. Being used to eating mainly grains, and root vegetables, the butter is a nice refreshment to my otherwise lackluster diet. As one of the five sacred products from the cow, it is an enjoyable way to thank the gods for providing us with the sustenance we require. As well as filling our own bellies, we also lay a lot of the food as an offering and a thanks to our protective deities. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it just as much as we do!

This new year was a great learning experience for me. I will definitely be helping the monks with more preparations than just the climbing and placing of the prayer flags on the summit for next year. For me I really want to go visit the lama atop the mountain, and join him as his disciple and student in his prayer period between full moons. I feel it will be a great experience for me and reaffirm my thinking for the new years.

Alas it is getting late, and the celebrations are over. Though it is nearly midnight, I feel too excited to sleep , and so I do what I always do. I decide to go for a walk. Past all my friends who are sleeping, and the fellows who are up late still celebrating I head over to the monastery where the mandala was being made. I take a look deep into the center of the palace and notice all the tiny details of the deities and spirits inside surrounded by the five buddhas all in celebration as if they were here with us on this new years day.

My eyes start to close and I lie down and look up at the sky. I hear a familiar voice, and as I drift into the depths of my unconsciousness, I see a familiar figure, my teacher approach me.

“You know who I am now” he said and he smiled and sat down in the palace of the mandala, holding an umbrella and opening it up into what turned into the most beautiful sky I’d ever seen. This was going to be a good year. I could feel it.

Returned Blog 3

Death and All it entails

Today I learned that one of the members of my village died. Not just any member. They were one of the climbers that accompanied me when we went to explore the caves far off from the village. I had grown quite fond of the individual. It’s a shame they succumbed to their injuries. It got me thinking though; what is death in Buddhism. I’ve always wondered about the nature of this topic. There are so many rituals out there to evade death and escape it, and yet we always talk about how it’s just another natural part of the cycle and life and suffering. I know just who to ask about this though. Who do I ask about such a topic though? As usual, I let my ideas come to me on a little walk into the wilderness. Another journey. My day was long and tiring, thinking about what it is to die, and what happens. I quickly found myself atop of the mandala hill staring at the stars.

The mandala that was used for the New year’s celebration is gone to my dismay. I think I notice some of the glittering colourful powders in the river as I walked up. Strange. I walk to the site where the mandala used to lay and I close my eyes and meditate on the image that was once there before. It’s no use though. I can only see void. But then I hear it; the voice. The one I’ve always heard before. The lama that answered so many of my questions before. That’s it! The perfect person to learn from. One who has transcended death. He wastes no time in diving into the subject of the matter, as he is already in my thoughts. I wanted to know all about the process of death.

When you came here, he said. Did you notice anything about your surroundings?

I thought to myself about where the mandala was made. The mountains in the distance were smooth, the skies were usually cloudy, the lake was calm and the river was pure and the forest was lush and unbroken. The elements he said; they were in balance in this place. Much like they are in ourselves. While we are alive that is. In death the elements that make up the living are out of harmony and so they unravel. Wind being the most important, as its movement through the body is what keeps us virile and functioning. When wind stops moving through the body in its usual manner, that’s when we start to break down physically. That’s why the seniors are always breathing heavily and gasping for breaths. The wind does not flow through them. At the end of your life though, you face a larger issue than in losing wind alone. The lord of death takes all your karmic effects into account and bears a judgment on what direction the winds will blow. They can continue to move forward, or reverse, and upon this reversal of the five winds, the dissolution of the elements we’re made of occurs in these winds which result in our decay. Heat is lost from the body, and thoughts are made unclear, eventually with the lack of the wind, the limbs start to shrink and succumb to disuse. The loss of the support of the wind allows the earth element within oneself to dissolve in the water. The consequences of which entail for great loss of strength in the individual. With the heart center starting to break down, water then mixes with our fire element. Our minds become clouded with the resulting fog, and our saliva disappears in our mouths. With this slips the last dissolution of fire into wind. Heat is lost in the warm fog of each breath, the last bit of energy starts to drain from the body, and the mind starts to fail. With the mind failing the wind finally dissolves into consciousness and it is here that the lord of death will come to greet the individual. Whether or not he comes with accompanying terrifying spirits or welcoming kind hearted dakas and dakinis is all dependent on the karma of the individual.

The senses start to fail and the body deteriorates, and these are the final moments of an individual who is doomed to die, or the moment of renewal for somebody afflicted with the presence of an evil spirit if they are cleansed before perishing.

This sounds terrifying, I know my teacher says. He can feel the fear and tremble in my mind as I think of all the worry my friend must have felt. There are practices to overcome such fear though. Acknowledge first, that death is merely a transition. I knew that of course; within the cycle of samsara one can be reborn many times before leaving if ever. Each rebirth was always accompanied by death. They say that rebirth occurs when one fails to recognize the burst of radiance that makes up the entire universe at the end of death. Those who are not enlightened, just see kaleidoscopes of colour and experience fear until they are reborn again. And so enlightenment is the key to peace in death. Practice of tantra and mudra can allow one to emerge back from the void in which they dissolve in the process of death.

Although this is the true way to avoid death, there have been other ways as well he explains. There is an internal force of time within ourselves. The motion of the sun and moon within ourselves is what causes time to progress. Our internal sun is damaging. It dries and destroys us gradually. It destroys the moisture created from our internal moon, and as that moisture disappears we age. In order to evade death, we must stop time. In order to stop time, we shield our moon’s moisture from the sun. To do so is to understand their alignment within ourselves relative to the zodiac. Our spines are cosmic pillars which the sun and moon move around intertwined. Understanding their motions and when they occur allow an enlightened person to combine their paths. Through meditation at specific times of the day and careful circulation of breath, they unify sun and moon within themselves. When these individuals die, they are not reborn, but rather pass on into the realm of enlightenment and become part of space itself. As well, your scholar friends and doctors at the medicine factory, they were lucky to stumble upon papers in which elixirs to stave death are annotated. Soon they will have the knowledge to cheat death. As good as that sounds it doesn’t do anything to help my friend though. My teacher feels my sympathy, and offers a mantra as I give prayers for my friend. He tells me not to worry about my friend’s state of being, as death came to greet them with welcoming spirits and ease the transition into a new life.

Yawning, I wake up from my dream. I need to go tell the doctors and scholars about my discovery. Elixirs to stave death. That will be useful for sure! I start to march my way back down from the mountain top. In my half lucid state, I haphazardly walk down the hill. Moving faster and faster, carelessly with the sway of gravity when all of a sudden, I slip and fall; the ground beneath me gave way. I find myself again in the dark void of my mind in a strange tunnel, trapped under debris and slowly losing consciousness, he appears again, one last time telling me to follow him. I feel like I could die; but I am not scared knowing the full ramification of death itself and its karmic base. I follow, and hear his lessons for the last time.

“There he is! Down in the hole!” one of my sherpa friends yells to the others who have a cot with them.

“Oh my gosh he’s mangled…get him out of there we need to take him to the medicine factory…I don’t know if he’ll make it this time though.”

References Used:

Buddhist Pilgrimage by Chan Khoon San

Tibet embraces the New Year Author(s): Ian Baker and Maria Stenzel Source: National Geographic. 197.1 (Jan. 2000): p82.

Cheating Death by Michael Walter

Writings on Death and Dying

Video of New Years celebration in Tibet

Final Blog Entry: Creating a Mandala

My journey here has been long, tumultuous at times, but worth all my time. All the burdens faced in the village, my journey to the mountains, discovery of the termas, visits from lamas and deaths experienced have been learning experiences. Birth, death, sickness and aging, the four sights ever present in my mind thanks to my journeys. All have led me to make peace with the world we live in. Now I have been chosen in my village to express my knowledge of the enlightened universe through the creation of a mandala. I have observed this ritual before, in practices to usher in the New Year as well as during the visits of lamas. The creation of a mandala is not the only goal; the aim of the exercise is to refocus and hone the crafter’s grasp with their own spirituality and enlightenment. I have trained long and hard in ritualistic Buddhism, and now I must put this knowledge to the test. The mandala represents a place of enlightenment and the universe. If I am to exhibit such a place, I must grasp my own concept of enlightenment myself.

The first step to properly creating a mandala is finding a suitable location to create the mandala. The location must embody a balance between the four great elements of the world that compose the rupa and the senses. Earth represents attractive forces, water represents motion, fire represents heat creating processes and air represents expansion. The mandala, being about balance and symmetry must be made in a place just as balanced. For instance, a place with a lake, a short flat hill, pointed sharp hills and moving clouds would respectively represent a good balance between water, earth, fire and air. There are signs to be avoided however, as not any location with the following will do. The following characteristics, smooth mountains, with two sharper steeper mountains may at first seem like good representations of earth and fire elements, but they in fact indicate the hostility of the sky. Holes in rock faces mean the earth is violent and aggressive. Sparse clumps of trees shaping a sweeping hand should be noted as a gesture of a real hand, shooing away visitors for a good reason. Wasting time in an area with such features invites demons into the mind and promotes imbalance, and is unsuitable for creating the mandala. Beyond imbalance, spirits that guard nature known as the yaksa, and a myriad of other malevolent creatures and beings also dwell outside. Raksasa being man eating feline demons, and the yaksa being two faced spirits of nature (innocent or malevolent), it’s best to steer clear of places indicating their presence. Such places will have claw marks on the ground, or blood spills violently scattered in the land. Though there is a spiritual aspect to this as well, common sense would have me stay away from these places to begin with. As well, naga are commonly known to dwell near locations of swirling water, as thought to be their laughter. Spirits may haunt places where two paths meet. Bhuta, little goblin creatures are thought to live in abandoned places. As well landscapes that have sharp weapon like shapes, burned areas, potholes or cracks are acclaimed to have evil spirits as well, and poisonous biting insects usually accompany them. So as you can see, picking a location is going to be pretty simple. Our village is lucky however; we sit atop a small flat hill that overlooks a jungle and a river basin, with mountains off in the distance. As for the insects, I could do without some of them, but they aren’t by any means poisonous ahaha.

The next portion of this sacred art involves sacrifice. A payment must be made. In order for the spirits inhabiting the location of choice to allow use of the area, food, drink and other possessions are offered to them. As well as the spirits, Khisitipati, the great earth spirit and Naga king must be appeased as well. Making an offering to him is a little more difficult however; and risky at that. A large square must be drawn over the area of soil that is to be where the sacrifice is made. This square must be subdivided into four more squares, with each representing a season. An imaginary circle must be made to align the body of the Naga king with the twelve signs of the zodiac in order. Careful and accurate calculation must then be made to picture the stature of the Naga king in the square. By his under arm, a hole should be dug and it is there that gems and grains and other sacrificial items will be buried in a hole an arms length deep. Extra precaution must be taken here though, for if Khisitpati is hit while digging or making the offering, depending on where he is struck you could face punishments. From loss of all good fortune, to eternal sickness to the death of your wife and children, these being just a few of the many punishments Khisitpati offers to any who would strike him or present his sacrifice in the wrong manner.

Once the two offerings have been made, the preparation of the site for mandala making is almost complete. A circle of security must then be established to progress with the creation. To do so, spikes of diamond called vajra must be affixed at ten locations in a circle. The vajra represent the indestructible nature of the guardians of the area and their irresistible power. In order to plant these vajra, either mudra (sacred hand gestures) are used, or actual wooden spikes are planted. The spikes must be planted at the edges of the area to be used, and are planted while chanting mantras and imagining the establishment of contract of the protective guardians.

With the guardians protecting the area, it’s back to pleasing the gods of the earth. This time an offering is made to the Earth goddess, Prthivi. An effigy of her made from a mound of dirt is to be erected in the center of the area used to create the mandala. Intense focus on her actual form within the effigy is required to merge her with her wisdom, which is scattered around the sky. When the focus is achieved, the goddess is said to manifest and tell the tale of shakyamuni achieving enlightenment. The goddess must be praised for her tale, and similar offerings will be made to her as made to prior spirits before. The pile of dirt used to envision the goddess is then carefully picked up and moved to a high point to oversee the creation of the mandala.

The area is then anointed with perfumes and flowers, and the special products of the cow are spread on the ground. Moving to the center of the site, a dance must then be performed to increase the seal and protection of the inlaid spikes. Rounds of chanting mantras while dancing to trace vajras into the ground are performed; each step a delicate and precise smaller vajra used to trace the larger ones. The first round traces one vajra, the second traces three, then the third round traces five. The final round is to trace a double vajra; a visvavajra a symbol of unfailing accomplishment and achievement of unattachment. At this point, one’s focus is substantially heightened if they had been concentrating on their steps and chants, envisioning their creation of the enlightened universe. Images of the mandala usually start to appear in the yogis mind at this point, and through pride and praise the outline of the divine palace and enlightened universe starts to be made through string.

String covered in chalk is used to create perfectly straight lines for this practice. When pulled tightly it makes a perfect path. When plucked the chalk will make a perfect line. These are perfect for setting up the base karma lines. A circle can also be made to surround the square base, using the string as a radial arm to make a perfectly geometric shape. Another string is then used to bless the lines. The string itself is very special as well. Made of exactly twenty five threads, with five threads making up each string and the main string being white. It is representative of the mandala spun by the tathagata family’s patriarch. Followed by the other colours of red, blue, yellow and green to represent the other members, they collectively embody wisdom. This string should not be allowed to touch the ground, nor should it be covered in chalk.

Finally the pouring of the sands can begin. Pigmented with chalks and other sources of exotic colours, grain by grain in a controlled fashion, a copper funnel is tapped. Tapping it slowly with a stick releases one pigmented sand grain, to fall from the sky light another enlightened Buddha descending to earth. This represents the mandala being made entirely of buddhas, and the wisdom and enlightenment to be shared with from all the buddhas it has been made from. The palace to be created at the center of the mandala bears the five colours of the sacred string, and radiate outward many other collective hues and shades of other colours. At the ends of the five colours of the palace stand five buddhas. Each one representing an aspect of the five parts of the skhanda. Their representation is acknowledgment of the transformation of the ordinary suffering mind to the enlightened one.

At the center of the palace lies a blue dais. Said to be the lord of the mandala, the dais’ colour is of a deep hue of blue. A blue that represents the fabric of space in the universe, that radiates outward a light beautiful and penetrating the rest of the mandala. Entering the radiance allows any being to ascend to the enlightenment of a Buddha. The fabric of the light represents the knowledge, purity and liberation from suffering and ignorance of the true pure universe. The fact that every being has the opportunity to join in the palace and experience the enlightenment is truly a welcoming thought. Through cycles of death and rebirth, no matter where you are in the cycle, wisdom is offered to alleviate suffering.

Radiant white rays also come from the palace; these rays are of forgiving nature. They alleviate the suffering, sickness and problems in the world due to unguided thinking. They are meant to quell all emotions, positive and negative, and leave only peace and tranquility behind. They create a lake of perfect clarity and wisdom. The shimmer of the lake is said to be the unification of form and matter (the rupaskhanda respectively named). The waters of the lake are used to ease the suffering of all beings, manifested on earth or in hell, embodying the true nature of Buddhist compassion for suffering and the desire for help. Tears are often shed as they are given to the lake as a sign of compassion in this ritual.

From another point in the palace, radiates a yellow light. This light is said to lead beings to develop as good natured spirits. The light encourages generosity, humility, and most importantly the light transforms feelings and emotions into a realization of ultimate equality between self and others, as everybody shares the great void that is the foundation of reality (sunyata). Once this understanding has been made, the rewards of unity and understanding grow within the yogis. Renouncing their prejudice, the yogis all have a common understanding between other beings. Understanding the nature of the suffering of all beings, the yogis offer themselves as aids in compassion and sympathy for others, knowing that they are all equal.

Rays of red are emitted from the palace as well. These fiery rays are used to cut out desire from the mind. In both mental and physical natures, it helps to make one realize the ultimate truth of uniformity and oneness in the universe, and thus stays the concepts of desire and private personal gain. This light provides the ultimate satisfaction to those who bear witness to its rays.

A green light of reinvigoration is also present in the upper region of the mandala. This light is said to bestow the knowledge to approaching any situation, as well as providing the yogis with stamina and energy to live to the fullest. This light burns away jealousy between individuals; as well it alleviates the negative karma built up through eons of rebirth in the individual. This light allows for the accomplishment of any endeavor and provides the yogis with entrance into the mandala’s palace.

Songs of rejoice and dance are finally used once the creation of the mandala is complete, and the spirits and gods are dismissed back to the realms they came from before.

After the mandala has been used, it must be carefully swept up into a golden urn, where it will be taken to a river and the powders given to be cared for by the local naga spirits in the area. And thus concludes the extensive ritual of the making of the mandala.

“Is he okay?” they whisper. I hear murmurs and I see shadows move and lights.

“He’s waking up! Here drink this. That was a nasty fall you took back at the mountains. You fell into a tomb. We didn’t think you’d make it.”

Struggling to conjured words, I clear my throat.

“I’m more alive now than I ever have been.” I get up from the cot in the medicine factory and stumble.

“Where are you going?” they ask me.

The picture still clear in my mind, the perfect enlightened universe, I set out to gather my powders and strings before embarking to the perfect spot in the wilderness by our village one last time.

“I’m late to my visit at the palace” I say. I get puzzled looks all around, but the monks see me and smile.

I tell them all I promise to explain my unexpected journey, if they’ll hear me, I offer them entrance to the palace of wisdom in the monastery. As soon as I return from the world between worlds, the true enlightened universe.

Thus ends a long journey. And yet a new life begins.

References

The Wheel of Time Sand Mandala: Visual Scripture of Tibetan Buddhism

By Barry Bryant

The Mandala: Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism

Bourquin, David Library Journal; Jun 15, 1997; 122, 11; ProQuest pg. 74

The Theory and Practice of the Mandala

By Giuseppe Tucci

Martin J. Boord (1998) Mandala Meaning and Method, Performance Research: A Journal of the Performing Arts, 3:3, 79–84

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