THE AMITAYUS SAND MANDALA

THE BUDDHA OF LONG LIFE

 

Of all the artistic traditions of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, painting with coloured sand is one of the most exquisite.  Mandalas are representations of the celestial mansion of one or more deities, who may be surrounded by their retinues, and other protectors and in a wider sense can be thought of as representing both the external world and the internal world of the consciousness – and indeed the whole universe. To make the Mandala, millions of grains of coloured sand are placed painstakingly in an elaborate design laid down in the Buddhist texts, which is memorised during the monks’ training.  The material used is marble dust coloured by the monks in the monastery.  In ancient times, powdered precious and semi-precious stones were used. 

 

At the heart of the Amitayus Mandala is the Sanskrit symbol representing the Buddha Amitayus, The Buddha of Long Life.  (Sometimes, the Buddha Amitayus is also represented by an image of a Precious Vase, which he holds in images and statues depicting him.)  Encircled by a ‘mala’ of dorjes – the symbol of protection, the central disc is surrounded by an eight-petalled lotus flower, each petal containing once again the same symbol, representing together the five Buddha families.

 

Amitayus is the principal Buddha for overcoming the power that death and ignorance have over us.  The name Amitāyus is a compound of amita ("infinite") and āyus ("life"), and so means "he whose life is boundless".  With these removed we can fulfil our true human potential - the achievement of pure happiness. Amitayus' body is said to be akin to a ruby mountain, shining like a pure jewel.  He is also associated with peacocks, his throne sometimes being painted with an array of these birds as its support.  Amitayus is associated with the cardinal direction west, the colour red, the lotus flower, and the transmutation of lust into discriminating wisdom.  His abode is Sukhavati, the Pure Land in the west. Amitayus is traditionally pictured holding a vase said to contain the Elixir of Life: water, saffron, and nectar pills, which confer immortality.

 

The lotus is in the centre of the Buddha’s palace, with its central courtyard, walls and four gates.  The floor of the mansion is divided into four triangles, which extend beneath the central lotus, each in the colour relating to its particular direction:  East is blue, South yellow, North green and the West is red.   These are also the colours of the magnificent gates, which are decorated with brocade hangings and painted pillars, and carved decorations in the wood.  At the top of each gate is the wheel of dharma with, seated to each side, two deer listening to the teachings of the Buddha, and representing His disciples.  Surrounding the central residence of the Buddhas are five walls made of coloured glass, representing the Five Wisdoms. 

 

Outside the five amitayuspic-2coloured inner walls of the palace are designs of lotus flowers on a red background, representing the Sixteen Offering Goddesses, two on either side of each gate.  The practitioner should visualise circumambulating the palace, starting at the Eastern gate, first passing two goddesses offering water. On the southern side of the palace are goddesses offering flowers, incense, butter lamps and perfume.  On the western side, goddesses make offerings of food, music, form objects and sound.  Proceeding to the North, goddesses make offerings of the senses, such as smell, taste and touch, and back to the Eastern side, where there are two more goddesses making offerings of water. Above the goddesses are jewel-encrusted walls with strings of pearls and a roof in the form of lotus petals.  When time permits the design continues with a beautiful garden outside the main walls of the palace.  In this you can see two small vases on each corner of the roof of the palace holding brocade banners symbolizing the victory over ignorance, and white umbrellas at each corner illustrating protection from the suffering of Samsara.  Large vases set on the ground are planted with beautiful wish-fulfilling flowers, and clouds are seen around the gates.  The Mandala is placed inside a thousand-petalled lotus flower, outside which is another protective Dorje mala.  Finally, there is a rainbow-coloured ring of fire – the flames of wisdom and compassion, overcoming the delusions of hatred, attachment and ignorance. 

 

Once the final grain of sand has been placed on the table, the Mandala is visualised as the residence of the enlightened being, who the monks invite inside, and from whom they request help in achieving their wishes with prayers and meditations in the temple lasting several days.  The enlightened being or Buddha remains within the Mandala until the closing ceremony, when great thanks and appreciation are offered to him for the gift of his presence, after which he is asked respectfully to leave.  The Mandala is then destroyed by sweeping the sand into the centre of the table from each of the four corners.  The sand is distributed in running water so that each of the blessed grains of sand reaches as far as possible.


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