{"id":31,"date":"2021-05-06T19:55:38","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T19:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dmy.info\/en\/?p=31"},"modified":"2021-05-23T18:39:13","modified_gmt":"2021-05-23T18:39:13","slug":"why-do-monks-make-and-destroy-mandala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dmy.info\/en\/why-do-monks-make-and-destroy-mandala\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do monks make and destroy mandala?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In eastern Asia, there lies a range of mountains. The greatest ones, the roof of the whole planet. At the top of the world, in these misty mountains, there are Buddhist monasteries. In these monasteries there are monks who are dressed with the most simple outfits that you can encounter, most of the time monks are trying to do nothing. As a part of nothing, they also do mandala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mandala… who knows what it actually means, or what it\u2019s meant to be? Everything decays, every object, life corrupts. Everything, all there is meant to be destroyed. So, does the mandala. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, I must tell you I don\u2019t claim to know anything. This is just a reflection of what is reflected to me. This is what I see from my viewpoint, through watching a tiny, small screen; conversely seeing great worlds on it and imagining even greater ones and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mandala is an art form originating from Hindu and Buddhist cultures. It\u2019s basically drawing geometric patterns that symbolizes the life and the universe. Personally, I would say a symbol of what we see in life instead of a symbol of life in order to prevent this label from transforming into a dogma. Neither Buddhists nor westerners don\u2019t know what is life and what the universe looks like. They only try to give a picture of what they see, not what it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In creating a mandala, Buddhist monks gather around and start to draw and paint a graphic symbol of the universe. It\u2019s usually a square enclosed with a circle. There are often deities to the sides. The order of the shapes, the harmony aids the individual to embrace the unity of being, in other words, the order of the cosmos. The shape is chaotic, yet it has a kind of order. When it\u2019s done with colored sands, the graphic, the artwork is dismantled at the end. The sands are mixed, the universe is destroyed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why they do it? Why do you do any work or leisure? It\u2019s an expression of what there is in that context. This is a ritual of the Buddhist tradition. Like all rituals, whether it\u2019s in the court of law or Christianity, it represents what they do and what they mean. It\u2019s the essence of their context, an abstract, a summary. We\u2019re all participating in a cooperative Mandala work-game. Then we\u2019re all destroyed at the end. Nobody survives or everyone passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing with Mandala is it\u2019s presented in sacredness. There is a holy aspect. Things become holy if they\u2019re respected by a community and they\u2019re respected on the account of its useful, pragmatic value. All sacraments were once useful knowledge, most of them are still functional. They\u2019re usually fundamental, concise expressions. Similar to other rituals of other traditions, mandala tells us about Buddhism and its way of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The monks draw and paint the shapes elegantly. It\u2019s a show that you\u2019d want to see. The seriousness, devoutness of monks is astonishing. It takes days to complete and a few moments to destroy it. They\u2019re completely aware of futility. The exact aim is to be futile actually. It\u2019s the embodiment of Buddhism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can observe the basic tenets of Buddhism in this artwork. Namely, Four Noble Truths,<\/p>\n\n\n\n