HISTORY OF MANDALAS part IV
Ziggurats were built according to plans based on numbers and proportions gleaned from careful study of the moon, stars, and planets. Each consisted of a square, truncated pyramid ascended by a prescribed number of steps. The top of the ziggurat was considered most holy. A sacred tree was often planted there, and it served as a platform for astronomical observations. Climbing to the top of the ziggurat moved one to the center of the sacred precinct. As sacred space this point also symbolized the Center, the primal source of all creation. The ziggurat functioned as a model of the cosmos, and the story of creation was encoded in its structure.
The tradition of the ziggurat continues in sacred places of the East, such as Borobudur in Java, Indonesia, and Sanchi in India. Sanchi is revered as the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment. The structure consists of a massive dome fifty feet high in which resides a sacred relic of the Buddha. The dome is circled by a walkway. Outside the walkway four walls form a square entered through elaborately carved stone gates.
The Buddhist shrine at Sanchi is the setting for ritualized circular movements as well. Pilgrims enter the shrine through the east gate, mount the walkway, and circumambulate the shrine in a clockwise direction. As the devotee enters the gate and moves closer to the relic, he is caught up in a powerful psychological state (Craven, n.d.). Being in the presence of a relic of the Buddha is thought to have beneficent effects. The circular pilgrimage around the stupa serves to heighten the intensity of the experience. This site has been the focus of continuous devotions for over two thousand years.
If we imagine ourselves above the shrine at Sanchi looking down upon it, its three dimensions would appear to be reduced to a flat design of two dimensions. We would then find a close resemblance between the patterns of Sanchi and those of the intricate mandalas of Tibet. Tibetan mandalas incorporate the forms of the circle and square along with an array of other figures, symbols, and motifs. One can discern in the squares the basic structure of a walled fortress with four gates. The symbol of a deity is placed in the center circle. We can see how the Tibetan mandala reiterates the pattern of Sanchi with its circular dome and square-walled precinct.
There is another similarity. Devotees also circumambulate the mandalas. They do so not with their feet, however, but with their eyes. They trace the mandala design according to customary procedures. Each gate is guarded by a fierce deity that represents an aspect of self that must be confronted before moving nearer the center: attachment, greed, fear. The mandala serves as a map of inner reality that guides and supports the psychological development of those wishing to advance in spiritual awareness.
The mandala as a visual aid to attain desirable mental states is also known in Europe. There are wonderful examples in Gothic cathedrals, in the rose windows that invite the eye and dazzle the viewer into a sense of harmony, awe, and exultation. Medieval European churches often incorporate a circular labyrinth designed in floor tiles near the entrance. This mandala is a representation of the pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem. Pilgrims pray as they move on their knees from outside the labyrinth, slowly progressing inward toward the center and the New Jerusalem. Performing this symbolic journey, it is felt, helps the devout Christian move closer to the mythic Jerusalem, which is a metaphor for union with God.