NgalSo Self Healing

the mandala

The Sanskrit term "mandala" literally means "circle". In fact, it is a sacred symmetrical space which is full of energy. Representations of Mandalas are found in many spiritual traditions: Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, and in many indigenous cultures like those of the American indians and the Australian aborigines. Mandalas can be represented by two-dimensional images: drawings, paintings, etchings, made with coloured sand or traced with fingers on the ground; or three-dimensional images of stone, metal or wood. Mandalas can be pure (nirvanic) or impure (samsaric) but they generally represent positive spiritual energies.

They are full of symbolic meanings, but essentially a mandala is a sacred, protected space in which pure, enlightened energies are depicted and invoked - an environment as pure as crystal where the deities reside. Mandalas can also be considered as a symbol of the purified nature of human consciousness and purified elements within our bodies, minds and the universe - both contain the macrocosm (the external universe) and the microcosm (the inner physical and mental universe), the five elements of space, air, fire, water and earth and consciousness.

When we meditate on mandalas, we can connect the positive energies of the microcosm and the macrocosm, generate better health and also protect and harmonise our planet's environment. Whatever cultural or spiritual beliefs we may have, we can use the pure crystal energies of the mandala's archetypes to accelerate our individual or collective evolution, and help to create a more peaceful, advanced society in harmony with the laws that govern the universe.

In order to use mandalas properly, we must not think of them as extraneous to our sphere of existence, or see them just as a religious representation of the heavens, something that has nothing to do with our daily life. Instead, we should sincerely examine our personal samsaric mandala: perhaps at its centre stand money and success, or even ignorance, pride anger, attachment and jealousy! These negative mental states are the raw material for building the Mandala of the Five Supreme Healers within our life.

By freeing ourselves of emotional blockages and allowing our purified energies to manifest as awareness of wisdom, we will gradually feel the pure celestial mandala blend with our personal mandala, and create a harmonious mandala made of well-balanced positive energies.

From the text "Commentary on Lama Gangchen Rinpoche's Tantric Self Healing" by Aldo Franzoni