Mandalas Inflluences:
Medieval Inluence on European Architcture and Chritstian Art: Rose windows:
Stained glass rose windows of the Medeival gothic archiecture represent mandala's significance in the art and architecture of Christianity represented in popular gothic architecture in France, Englnad, and Germany by the 13th Century. This one on the upper right is the inner view of a stained glass window in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. Not only the design elments of the window such as its shape and geomoetry but also its iconography and symbolism is similar to Tibetan Sand Mandala. The rose window is meant to represent Jesus in the middle with angels, saints, and other religious iconography surrounding it. This is a similar format to mandals where the center reprsents the deity and the outside the auxilliary deities. By looking at the windows the viewer is awe-strucken by their beauty and the teachings of Jesus, just as a viewer of a mandala is meant to feel by mandala construction's emittance of postive energy and its teachings.
Mandalas are penetrating all parts of popular culture due to their teaching and healing powers as well as their promotion of the culture of Buddhism and political situation in Tibet.
Many universities and other institutions are commissioning mandala construction for building initiations. Other people commision mandalas for their use as alternative healing methods.
Mandala and Politics:
The Dalai Lama commissioned a mandala after the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States to promote healing through medition and ritual. Showing that mandalas have become significant as a Tibetan political tool to show compassion and an effort to help the world achieve harmony and peace.
Mandalas are also being used in film and other medias to express Tibetan politics and culture. In the the documentary "Wheel of Time" about the Tibetan culutre and political situation, twice a mandala construction is featured, which shows the directors perception of mandalas being a symbol of Tibetan culture.
Furhtermore, mandalas are being used as a symbol to inspire conflict resolution and inter-cultural dialogue. For example in Montreal the Full Cirlcle Mandala Project brought together Jews, Arabs, Palestinians, and Israelis to conduct dialogue about the situation in the Middle East. Together they constructed a mandala to show their commitment to the peace process.
Technology, teaching, art and popular culutre: Nano Exihibit:
The mandala has been reinterpreted for its role in understanding the world through understanding, compassion, meditation and patience.
The Nano exhibit takes images of a Tibetan Sand Mandala produced in India as the embodiment of how life art reflects life and combines it with science and technology for a way to understand the world. In the exhibit nonscientist and media artist collaborated to project a series of images of large picture of a sand mandala to the close-up of a molecular photograph of a grain of sand onto an 8ft diameter circular sand surface.
Viewers can interact with the mandala by playing with the sand underneath the projection and by listening to meditative sound in the mandala.The exhibit is significant because it work shows the Mandala’s infiltration into pop culture and its integration into other disciplines such as education of science and technology to young people; while it still capturing the essence of the Mandala through its interactive nature, healing and meditative characteristics, and its teaching qualities. To learn more vist their website.
Conclusion:
Mandalas are becoming a mainstream part of culutre, whether its in dance performance, dramatic performance, politcs, meidcal healing, etc. The Buddhist teachings are reaching the wider culutre through their teaching qualities and healing power and both spiritual and creaitve inspirtaiton.
