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kalachakra
October 2009 
Kalachakra Mandala
Posted on Jan 4th, 2007
by 
Jw
Jw
Attached to this blog entry is my rendition of a Tibetan Kalachakra mandala. I have to say my rendition or impression because, unlike Western art, Tibetan iconography is not creative. It is very ritualistic and formulated.
The Kalachakra mandala seems to be the most common of Tibetan mandalas to be seen in the west. Last summer I got the idea of rendering one. It was quite a challenge. It is a very detailed drawing and I had lots of computer snafu’s. I had several crashes, a couple of corrupted drawings and several times I thought, “Should I really be doing this? I am reevaluating my spirituality. I haven’t even been bestowed with this empowerment,” but I was persistent and continued. It turned out to be a very transforming experience for me.
This image represents the world in an ideal state. Think of the square shapes as being a temple. Kalachakra and his consort reside in the middle at the top of the temple. All of the lines are mathematically accurate and there is a formula for their construction. The center level of the temple represents the enlightened mind, next level is enlightened speech, then enlightened body. The area around the temple represents a garden with offerings. The rings represent earth, water, fire, wind, space and wisdom. I used Barry Bryant’s book The Wheel of Time SAND MANDALA, Visual Scripture of Tibetan Buddhism, extensively.
It is the goal of a practitioner to become the mandala. More on mandalas another time.
jw
The Kalachakra mandala seems to be the most common of Tibetan mandalas to be seen in the west. Last summer I got the idea of rendering one. It was quite a challenge. It is a very detailed drawing and I had lots of computer snafu’s. I had several crashes, a couple of corrupted drawings and several times I thought, “Should I really be doing this? I am reevaluating my spirituality. I haven’t even been bestowed with this empowerment,” but I was persistent and continued. It turned out to be a very transforming experience for me.
This image represents the world in an ideal state. Think of the square shapes as being a temple. Kalachakra and his consort reside in the middle at the top of the temple. All of the lines are mathematically accurate and there is a formula for their construction. The center level of the temple represents the enlightened mind, next level is enlightened speech, then enlightened body. The area around the temple represents a garden with offerings. The rings represent earth, water, fire, wind, space and wisdom. I used Barry Bryant’s book The Wheel of Time SAND MANDALA, Visual Scripture of Tibetan Buddhism, extensively.
It is the goal of a practitioner to become the mandala. More on mandalas another time.
jw
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