Mystic Mandala of Shakyamuni Buddha

A mandala is not merely squares and circles, rather a sacred diagram of the universe, encompassing an area in which divine forces are present. A mandala aid the devotee in meditation when he or she seeks to focus on divinities and to gain access to divine forces. The black thangkas especially the black mandalas have special place in esoteric mystic practices as they create serious mood and has special meaning in the tantra. The emergence of this genre comes from the midnight associations of the most fiercest of the archetype Buddha deities. The night-time, awe-inspiring atmosphere of these type of paintings reflects the depth psychology of the Tantras. These archetypes provide ideal templates for the subjectivity of the practitioner who must mobilize the contemplative mind and body to brave the decent into the underworld of terror and death.

The exceeding refinement of line and dark shade make this an exceptional black thangka. It depicts the mandala of Shakyamuni Buddha which is surrounded with Cosmic Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and wrathful deities. All the images have very typically been drawn. The Buddha Shakyamuni is seated in a courtyard with palatial structure and walls behind, in the inner circle of the mandala. His right hand is in bhumisparsha-mudra, while the left hand is held in meditation position. The bhumisparsha-mudra or earth-touching gesture reminds the Mara-vijaya event of the life of Buddha. It is well-known that when Shakyamuni started wandering in search of knowledge and truth, finally came to a pleasant hermitage where, for six years, he joined five mendicants in a way of disciples based on progressively severe fasting. He ate a single grain of rice for each of the first two years, drank a single drop of water for each of the second two years, and took nothing at all during the last two years. After six years, although he was emaciated, but he was not a step closer to the hoped for understanding convinced that this extreme method did not result in ultimate understanding, he decided on another approach and started eating again and went on by himself, under reproach from his fellow mendicants, and found a quiet place where he hoped to meditate in silence. He stopped in Bodhgaya and sat down under a large Pipal tree. During his seven weeks of pondering and meditating, Mara tried to prevent Siddhartha from coming to the ultimate understanding. He sent his armies, but all their weapons and fired arrows transformed into flowers. When Mara's all attempts were failed to prevent Siddhartha becoming a Buddha, then he said that no body would believe that he had not succumbed to their tricks and techniques. At this, the solitary Siddhartha called the earth goddess to be his witness, by earth-touching gesture. The earth opened and the earth goddess confirmed that he had remained stead fast. Mara backed down and slunk away. Thus all through the tribulations, Siddhartha sat calm and unflinching, and Mara finally withdrew and thus was cleared the final hurdle on the way to Buddha's enlightenment. It is said that mere sight of this gesture of Buddha guarantees the believer that it will ward of all evil

Within the courtyard Buddha's chief disciples Shariputra and Maudgalyayana are seated each side of his throne. Outside the courtyard two devotees are shown seated with folded hands. The Buddha Shakyamuni is surrounded by a circle of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Adepts. The square outside the circle is divided into four triangles and the square has four gateways in cardinal directions. There are protector deities in each gateway and in triangles. The walls of the building are decorated with geometric design. Over the gates are houses with decorations. The square is surrounded by three circles; the outer one is of fire-fence which is florally rendered here. This one is followed by a circle of charnel-ground and there is a circle of lotus petals.

Beyond the circle of the mandala various figures are depicted in the dark sky. Among them are Cosmic Buddhas, Father-Mother figures, wrathful Vajrayana deities, dragons and Shadakshari Lokeshvara in the upper right corner. The lower left corner and middle ground outside the mandala depicts four-headed wrathful deity, dragon and Adepts, while the lower right corner and middle ground depicts Buddha with his disciples, an Adept, a Bodhisattva with attendants. The foreground depicts Heruka Father-Mother, Adepts, Buddha demon-god Rahu with snake body in the bottom centre. The border of the painting depicts dragons and auspicious symbols. The extended brocade is decorated with stylized vishva-vajra, lotus and good luck symbol bats. The painting is very much suitable for esoteric practices and sadhana.

This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma, whose Doctorate thesis is on "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D.)".

Click Here to View the Thangka Painting along with its Brocade

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