I 10

Dr. Jampa Samten

it ~eems evident from the above sources that a' special relationship
eXisted between the Sutra2 and the Mahasanghika Schools.
On the basis of the above sources, Kasyap's associations with
the Mahasanghika School is established and further support the
popular presumption that Mahayana was gradually developed in the
Mahasanghika Viharas in the valley of Andhra Pradesh.

Conclusion
The textual contents of these SCitras do not correspond to each
oth~r. Satra2 and Satra3 explicitly deal with Mahayana doctrine,
partlculal:ly the t1~eory of the Tathagatagarbha at length and condemns
the doctnnes of Sravakayana.
The probable argument is that if the Mahayana school of Buddhism
e.xist~d and, flourished parallel with the Theravada school during the
I,fetllne of the Buddha, then one would expect that doctrinal
controversies and arguments would have occurred. In such a case the
Pali SQtras compiled after the passing away should also have reco~ded
tl~e doctrinal criticism of Mahayana, as it is contained in Mahayana
sutras such as SLttra2. But, as far as I know, no such criticism of
Mahayana is recorded in the Pali SQtras, except in a few later
commentaries. This indicates that the Mahayana had not taken the
definite shape of a separate school in parallel with the Theravada
school at the time of the compilation of the Pali SQtras.
, Thus, this finding does seem to give credence to the popular stand
of the modern scholars to the effect that Mahayana is a later
development based on the earlier teachings of the Buddha.

On the Earliest Mandalas in a

Buddhist Context
Christian Luczanits'

For the West, the mandala, kyilkhor (dkyil- 'khor) in Tibetan, is

probably the most fascinating expression of Tibet's visual culture.
Certainly it is the best known. The western mind is familiar with certain
aspects of the mandala and unfamiliar with other aspects. It is often said
that the mandala is a geometric configuration in which the circle
dominates. In fact, circle and disk are two of the meanings of the term
mandala. In the West, one thus speaks commonly of a mystical circle.
It is the shape of the mandala in the Tibetan tradition that
dominates the imagination. This mandala has a square palace in a circle
made of fire, vajras and lotus-petals. Variations are less apparent in
the circular element where charnel grounds or the disks of the cosmos
may be added to the other three elements. Within the square of the
outer palace, the variety is considerably larger due to the use of different
combinations of circular, square-additional palace structures-and
triangular elements filling the principal square. The principal shape
of the Tibetan mandala, which I call the standard Tibetan depiction,
i~ highly systematised.
After a more general reflection on the mandala, I will look at some
of the major elements making up the standard. Tibetan mandala
depiction and discuss what I know so far about their history. This brief
study is not intended as a comprehensive treatment of the topic but
This survey profited considerably from a seminar for graduate students that I
gave last spring in Berkeley. Whilc I wish to thank all participating studentsWen-shing Chou, Amanda Goodman, Nancy Lin, Iwona Tenzing und Uranchimcg
Tsultem-for the lively discussions, I am particularly grateful to Amanda
Goodman for bringing some of the Dunhuang drawings to my attention. The
article was compiled under a research grant or the Lumbini International
Research Institute (URI), Nepal.

112

Christian Luczanits

simply outlines some of the major questions future studies may explore
in greater detail. I also restrict my discussion to Buddhist expressions
of the mandala; a complete discussion of the history and early shapes
of the mandala would take Hindu examples into account as well.

***
The earliest full depictions of Buddhist mandalas in the Himalayas
do not seem to display an absolute confiqence in how the mandala is to
be constructed in its entirety, although the principals seem clarified. In
the earliest mandalas preserved in wall paintings, those of the Nako
Translator's Temple (Lo-tsa-ba IHa-khang) attributable to the early 12th
century (Luczanits 2003; 2004: 77-88), the corners of the outer palace
walls project beyond the surrounding fire circle. In addition, the
complete fourth assembly, comprised of the Four Great Kings, Hindu
and pan-Indian deities serving as protectors, and four gate-keepers, are
placed outside to the left and right of the mandala proper (Figure I).
Mandalas on scroll paintings (thangkas) may be slightly earlier
than those in the murals, but none of the supposedly early ones can
actually be dated. 2 in contrast to the murals, that to some extent must
have been made for public or semi-public display, thangkas may have
been originally made for private use only.3 The earliest mandala
thangkas are predominantly dedicated to deities classified in the
Tibetan system among the Mother-Tantras of the Anuttarayoga-Tantra
class, but there is also one early Vajradhatu mandala from a private
collection among them (Pal 2003: 115). The anomaly of this mandala
is that the fire circle actually projects beyond the canvas of the
thangka, opening the realm of the mandala to outside influence.
If we ask what mandalas looked like prior to those discussed so far,
we face the problem that pre-eleventh or twelfth century Buddhist
mandalas do not exist in Tibet or in India. But we do have drawings from
Dunhuang depicting mandalas, and we have the twin mandala set of the
Garbha and the Vajradhatu that became established in the late eighth
century in Japan. 4 The earliest paintings and drawings of this set definitely
2 Early mandalas are mostly dedicated to CakrasaI]1vara, like the one in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art (Figure'IO; Leidy and Thurman 1997: 70-74, no.
13; Luczanits, in press-a: figs. 4.16 and 4.17), the Goenka Collection (Pal 1984:
II) and an unspecified private collection (Kossak and Singer 1998: 2).
3 A case in point is the Vajrayogini" mandala (e.g. Kossak and Singer 1998: no.
20) made as personal image (thugs dam) of Sangye-on (Sangs rgyas dbon; 12511296), shortly called ... npo (dBon-po).
4 This mandala set going back to Kukai (774-835) is not preserved in the original
but in many later copies, the earliest of which is a version drawn in gold and
silver on dark ground, the Takao Mandalas of 824, and a coloured version in

On the Earliest Mandalas in a Buddhist Context

113

give us some idea of an earlier st~ge of the mandala, even though one
cannot directly conclude from them about an earlier period in India.
While the Shingon mandala set may be regarded as the outcome
of a specialised local tradition, the Dunhuang drawings actually show
a wide range of variety on the mandala theme. Only some of those
differences will be discussed here. s
In principle, it is the esoteric nature of the teachings involved that
accounts for the absence of early art-historical evidence in this regard.
We are actually faced by the interesting fact that laying down such
teachings in writing as well as in art meant that the secrecy of the topic
was to some extent already given up. However, the early texts on the
topic are far from being explicit. Commonly written in verses, they
simply hint at the subjects they are discussing rather than explaining
them, thus making an interpretation of them rather tricky.

***
From the very beginning, the principal integrative parts of the
mandala are the ritual space used for the mandala ritual and the deities
invited to this ritual space.
The commonly square purified ritual space is transformed into a
mandala by the application of divisions of fixed proportions within
it. It is this outlining of the mandala with the help of coloured strings
that in textual descriptions takes up a coosiderable portion of the
mandala description. 6 The ritual space thus makes up what one may
call the geometric mandala. It serves as a receptacle for the deities
and is thus understood as both their habitation and their support.
The assembly of deities invited to this habitation arc then the
inhabitants of the mandala, the supported ones, and are best called the
mandala assembly. From the very beginning, there appears to be a
strong hierarchy within this assembly. While in some cases this
hierarchy may be expressed less explicitly, it is often maintained that
the central deity comprises all the secondary ones which in turn are
understood as representing only a certain aspect of the main deity. This
strong hierarchy is also expressed in the Tibetan definition of the
mandala, where dkyil is understood as referring to the central deity
the KyooGokoku-ji (T6-ji), known as Shingon-in, from the late ninth or early
tenth century (well published in Ishimoto 1978 and Ishimoto et al. 1977). On
the wider background of this set cf. e.g. Grotenhuis (1999: chapters 2-4).
5 This said, it also needs to be noted that despite the fact that one has to be
cautious with concluding back to the Indian heritage, the Shingon set and the
Dunhuang drawings of esoteric Buddhist topics share a great aflinity to Indian
painting that sets them apart from representations of other topics.
6 For a practical application, cf. e.g. Kohn (1997: 380-383).

14

Christian Luczanifs

and 'khor to itsentourage. It is also clear from this definition that the
central deity alone may represent the whole mandala.

***
Assemblies that are meant to comprise the deities of a mandala
are found already in India. These assemblies of deities may be in stone
and thus likely for public use, possibly structuring the whole
arrangement of a temple, or for a more private use in the form of
bronzes. However, especially with regard to the earlier forms oftantric
Buddhism, it is probably impossible to ascertain whether or not the
cult underlying the depicted deities actually included the use of a
mandala. One may take Cave 6 of Ellora as an example. Cave 6
essentially represents a three-family configuration of the Buddha
flanked by Avalokitesvara and an early form of Vajrapal)i, extended
by the later addition of Tara (on Avalokitdvara's side) and
MahamayOrT. Although the latter goddess points towards an early stage
of tantric practice (cf. Schmithausen 1997), the additional deities
represented in the Cella opposite the donors and the fact that
MahamayOrT does n'ot belong to the original composition makes it
unlikely that Cave 6 represents a mandala-based configuration. 7
Later caves of Ellora, in contrast, have configurations that are
associated with mandala practice. In these representations, the core
three-family configuration of Cave 6 is extended by six more
Bodhisattvas (Caves II and 12), resulting in a configuration that likely
comprises a mandala assembly (cf. Chandra 1988; and Malandra 1993:
75-90).R Such an understanding is certainly supported by the
representation of the Buddha surrounded by the 8 Bodhisattvas in a
configuration of nine squares, as found in Ellora Cave 12 (Figure 2).9
7 For a plan and the basic three-family configuration, see Fergusson and Burgess
(1880 (1'1969): plates LX, LXI) or Malandra (1993: 27, Text fig. 2-1). Given
that one of the principal features of a mandala assembly is an emphasized
hierarchy between the central image and the secondary one, it can also be
concluded that the nine identical teaching Buddhas represented on the side walls
of the Cella represent a mandala as has been assumed by Malandra (1993: 2630). Similarly, the circular dome shape"d ceilings with a central seated Buddha
and standing Buddhas around it, as found, among others, in Kakrak, Foladi and
Bamiyan (e.g. Higuchi 1983: vol. I, plates 2-1,8-1,31,57.1,65,70-1, 119,
120-1, 125-2, 129-1, 141-143; Klimburg-Salter 1989: figs. 25-27, 30) can thus
not be understood as representing mandalas per se.
8 On the group of eight Bodhisattvas in Indian art, see also Bautze-Picron (1997)
and Yoritomi (1990).
9 Thus, with regard to these assemblies, the title of Malandra's detailed study of
the iconography of the Buddhist caves of Ellora , "Unfolding a Mandala," does
makes sense; however, I would see the development as somewhat later.

On the Earliest Mandalas in a Buddhist Context

I 15

An exceptional certain case is a Nalanda bronze of Vairocana in

the National Museum in New Delhi. This bronze clearly has the main
image of a mandala, namely Mahavairocana of the Vajradhatu mandala,
as can be proven on the basis of the symbols of the surrounding
Buddha-families represented on the throne cushion around the seated
image. In other versions of this mandala, the symbols are replaced by
gbddesses holding them. III
The earliest mandala usage in India, thus, can only be demonstrated
on the basis of an assembly of deities that can be associated with a
ritual text describing the usage of a mandala in the course of the ritual
associated with this assembly."

***
Considering that the assembly is an integrative part of the mandala
that can also stand for the whole, the concept of a "horizontal
mandala," as it has been coined and used for depictions of mandala
assemblies in early western Himalayan painting and sculpture, is
clearly unnecessary and has to be avoided. 12 Not only has this term
been coined on the basis of very specific horizontal arrangements of
mandala assemblies, such as the core deities of the DharmadhatuvagTsvaramanjusrT mandala among in the mid-eleventh century paintings
of the Tabo Assembly Hall, but its usage may erroneously indicate that
the shape of the arrangement of the deities in the assembly actually
makes up a different mandala. I)
10 On this image and its comparisons, cf. Luczanits (2004: 204-09). Such a
representation also makes clear that even among the principal group of five
Buddhas underlying the standard Tibetan mandala depiction, there is a hierarchy
between the central Buddha and the four surrounding one, a hierarchy that is
clearly expressed in art as well (id. 209).
II That the line between the usage of a ritual involving the idea of a mandala and
prior ritual activity is not so easy to draw can, for example, be gathered from
Yukei Matsunaga's study on the history of Tanlt'ic Buddhism on the basis of
the Chinese texts (Matsunaga 1978: vii-xix). The rituals said to be described
in a fourth century text in association with MahiimayiirT, drawing a protective
boundary line and cleansing with cows' urine (p. xi), already indicate a developed
ritual but not the usage of a mandala, while fully developed mandalas are
described in mid-seventh century text in connection with five Buddhas (p. xivxvi).
12 The term has been coined by Klimburg-Salter (Klimburg-Salter 1999; 1997: 109119, figs. 117 (reversed!), 118, diagrams 7,10) and has been used by me as
well (Luczanits 2004).
13 In fact, there is no rule on how a mandala assembly has to be arranged, but
from the earliest examples on, it is clear that the relative position of the deities
is considered in the arrangement.

I 16

Christian Luczanits

Early five-deity configurations, one central deity surrounded by

four secondary ones, in India and Tibet have the secondary deities
frequently represented at the sides of the main image. This does not
mean that the secondary deities are supposed to be placed in the
intermediate directions of the mandala. '4

***
A Tibetan invention appears to be the distribution of a mandala
assembly across a series of thangkas, as is frequently the case with
main mandalas of the Vajradhatu and Durgatiparisodhana cycles. In
the case of these mandalas, one thangka each is dedicated to the central
Buddha Vairocana and the J inas of the directions with their respective
quarters (see Luczanits, in press-b).'5

***
It is clear from the description of early mandala rituals, especially
from the well studied Maiiju.\:rfmalakalpa (Lalou 1930, 1936;
MacDonald 1962; Wallis 200 I, 2002) and the Vairocantlbhisambhodi
(Chandra 1990; Hoage 2003; Wayman 1992), that the asse~bly of
deities is not necessarily organised symmetrically and/or geometrically
around the centre. Furthermore, not all geometric spaces of the
mandala need to be occupied by deities. '6
Rather surprising, however, is the observation that even when the
concept of the mandala becomes more systematised in configurations
of five or nine main deities-four or eight around a central deitythe symmetry between the mandala assembly and the geometric
mandala was established only gradually.
This can be concluded from some of the Dunhuang drawings. Of
particular interest is drawing P2012 of the Musee Guimet in Paris
(Dun huang bao zang 112,96-102). There, four mandalas for different
types or purposes of ritual are depicted. While in general it is clearly
the concept of the five Buddhas that underlies the mandalas in this
set (Figure 3), the last two more wrathful assemblies actually have ten
main deities. Nevertheless, the mandala with which they are associated
still has a circle of eight blades (Figure 4).

***
14 It is such a reading that appears to underlie the concept ofa horizontal mandala.
15 In these configurations. too, the Bodhisattvas surrounding the Jinas are commonly
flanking the main image and thus appear to be in the intermediary directions.
16 See the frontispiece drawing in MacDonald (1962) or some of the mandalas in
the mandala set of Ngor (bSocl-nams-rgya-mtsho and Tachikawa 1989: nos. 2,
4, 20).

On the Earliest Mandalas in a Buddhist Context

I 17

The Dunhuang drawings are interesting in many regards. What is

particularly striking about them is the variety of mandalas and
mandala-like configurations found there. In the following, I will look
at some of the varied examples.
A Mandala in the British Museum shows Avalokitesvara and a
donor in a central lotus circle and a related text written in a spiral
around it (Figure 5). This centre is cordoned off by a row of vajras
outside of which are two palaces with Bodhisattvas, Nagas, symbols
and gate-keepers in front of the indicated gates (see Whitfield 1982:
1, figs. 50-52).
Another mandala in the Musee Guimet shares with the previous
one a central deity accompanied by kneeling donors and the circle they
are shown in encircled by a text, this time Chinese (Figure 6). Highly
unusual here is the emphasis on symbolic representations including
haloed Buddha heads and hands, hands in clouds, etc. That this
mandala is not (only) a fancy local invention is indicated by the
inclusion of Hindu deities as protectors in the fourth assembly (second
square from the outside). Among others, one can recognise l~aDa,
Brahma, Karttikeya, Harm, Ganesa and probably Agni.
A third example of a larger series, Dunhuang boo zang 132,477b,
is intimately connected with the fourth mandala of the P20 12 set, since
its interior deities-ten identical wrathful gods, four offering gods/
goddesses and four gate-keepers-are the same as those of the mandala
assembly there (Figure 8). The representation of these deities reveals
another issue that may be characteristic for the Dunhuang drawings
in a more general sense. It is obvious that these deities are not drawn
as visualisation "supports" but rather to clarify the gestures to be made
in accordance with the different deities involved. Thus, it may be
assumed that a good deal of the Dunhuang mandala drawings do not
represent ritual mandalas but are rather instructional.
That this is valid for mandala depictions as well can be concluded
from another drawing published in Dun/wang bao zang (132,356b),
where the decoration of the mandala is only exemplarily indicated.
That the representation of deities also has an instructional purpose
I have worked out on the basis of the Vajradhatu mandala as well.
There, the representation may clarify rather tricky objects and symbols
held by the sixteen vajra-Bodhisattvas. It certainly was not very clear
from the beginning how a vajra-tongue is to be imagined or a garland
of teeth. The representations of such details offered in the early
western Himalayan paintings and sculptures are quite varied.

***

I 18

Christian Luczanils

All of the Dunhuang drawings of mandalas and mandala-like

themes have one thing in common: they are squares, whatever other
differences there are. Frequently, the square consists of one or several
palace walls with gates. The Dunhuang drawings share this feature
with the twin mandalas of the Japanese Shingon school mentioned
already. In these cases, the square of the palace represents the outer
edge of the mandala. Not infrequently, a chain of vajras marks this
outer periphery.
One may see those mandalas as incomplete or abbreviated depictions
of the topic, but there are indications that also in India the original
mandala was indeed square. First of all, the earliest descriptions of the
mandala describe only a square.
The mandala is square with four gates adorned with four
tympana. 17
He [the wise one] should draw it with a pure mind,
So that it is completely square,
with four gates and archways,
together with-extensive portals. IN
In addition, the earlier square shape much better reflects the origin
of the mandala as purified and protected ritual space to which the
deities are to be invited. 19 The somewhat simpler visualised ground
for the deity assembly may be imagined square as wel1. 20

***
A consistent element in the Dunhuang drawings are the vajraadorned crescents (rdo rje rin chen gyis spras pa 'i zla ba phyed pa)
in the corners of the palaces (Figures XXX).21 They are said to symbolise
17 Vajramahabhairavatantra (Sikl6s 1996: 28).
18 Mahavairocanoltaratanlra VII ,3 7 (Hodge 2003: 426). Other examples are
Mahclvairocal1llhhis(//!lhodhitantra 11,19 and XV I,5 (Hodge 2003: 102-106,
314), the Maiiju,I'rfmulakalpa (MacDonald 1962: frontispiece plan of the mandala
described in chapter 2) and the Hevajl'atantl'a I, I0, 19-20 and 11,5,50-51 (Farrow
and Menon 1992: 129, 254-55, on Snellgrove's pioneer translation, sec note
34). In the Savarodaya. the form of the mandala remains unclear, but there are
no descriptions of round elements (Tsuda 1974: capter XVI I).
19 Maiijukfmulakalpa, chapter 2 (MacDonald 1962: 100-10 I; Wall is 2002: 132).
A similar square ritual space serves in the I'Do I'je :iigs byed kyi I'log pa 'i rgyud
for the fire offering (Sikl6s 1996: 59-60). Even in a fairly modern ritual such
as the Mani Rimdu, the square of the ritual space guides the ritual throughout
(Kohn 1997: Figures 8.1-8.4, 8.7, 8.16, 8.17).
20 E.g. English (2002: 227-49). Often the texts are not explicit enough.
21 In the SGI!lvarodaya, vajra-jewels (vajraratna /I'do Ije rin chen) are described
(Tsuda 1974: xvii, 35).

On the Earliest Mandalas in a Buddhist Context

119

the thought of enlightenment (bodhicitta).22 On the basis of their

position in the corners and occasionally also to the sides of the doors,23
they may be interpreted as serving the grounding or fixation of the
mandala palace walls. However, I have not yet come across an
explanatory description of this element.
Commonly, arrows and/or ritual daggers (k'la) are used to stake
out the mandala ground. 24 In the mandalas of P20 12 (Figures 8), all
three elements are present, the arrows staking out the ground, the k'la
to the sides of the door and the crescent-vajras in the corners of the
mandala.

***
What then is round about the mandala? Since the mandala is
described within the square, it must be the central round element to
which the deities are invited that is termed mandala along with its
deities. In his Dhar/11a/11a(l~talasiUra[sKyil 'khor gyi chos mdor bsdus
pa], a mnemonic verse-text of the second half of the eighth century
systematically enumerating the different parts of the mandala and their
symbolism,25 Buddhaguhya describes four such centres, the lotus,26 the
wheel,27 a cut of circle 28 and the triangle. Further, wrathful deities are
occasionally shown in a circle of knife-blades. Buddhaguhya also
states that these shapes serve different rituals, namely pacification,
prosperity, subj ugation and destruction (Lo Bue 1987: 221-24). A
differentiation in the shape of the mandala according to different types
of ritual certainly also underlies the four mandalas drawn in P2012
(Figures 3, 4 and 8).
Such an understanding of the term mandala is also supported by the
fact that the assembly of deities, too, conforms to the interior of the
mandala palace. This interpretation also explains why the fourth
22 Sikl-s (1996: 28-29).
23 Sikl-s (1996: 28-29, 80); Tsuda (1974: xvii-35).
24 E.g. Mahc7virocanoflal'atanlra V11,28 (Hodge 2003: 424); for the practical
application, cf. (Kohn 1997: 373-74, figs. 8.2, 8.16). in the Maiijurfmiilakalpa,
chapter 2. the square sacred ground is staked out with wooden posts that also
serve to attach the five coloured threads all around the square (MacDonald 1962:
100-101: Wallis 2002: 132).
25 Lo Bue (1987). Buddhaguhya, alias Buddhagupta, was one of the most important
commentators on early tantric texts and flourished in the 8th century.
26 See Mahc7vairocC//1(lbhisQ/!lbodhilanlra 11-22 (Hodge 2003: 105).
27 E.g. Sarvadurgall/Jari.l:odhanalantra (Skorupski 1983: 27, 311).
28 The literal translation of zlC/ gam grll chad gzhll dbyibs is still unclear to me,
but given the similarities in usage. one may assume that Karmay (1988: 44B)
reproduces the described shape.

120

Christian Luczanits

assembly of the Nako DharmadhatuvagisvaramafijllsrI mandala is

actually represented outside the mandala proper (Figure 1). These nonBuddhist protective deities, who also occur in the Shingon mandala set,
have from the very beginning been thought of as residing outside the
palace and protecting it. 29 In Nako, this notion is still manifest, while
in later versions of the same mandala these deities are represented in a
band on the interior of the fire circle around the palace (Figure 9).311

***
The process of adjustment and systematisation is also visible in
the marvellous Cakrasarpvara mandala of The Metropolitan Museum
of Art (Figure 10). The general form of the mandala represented there
reminds one of the description in the SQ/,!!varodaya that also prescribes
a six-armed central deity.3' The SQ/,!!varodaya says that the mandala
is adorned with the eight charnel grounds in the middle of the vajracage (vajrapafijaramadhye, Tsuda 1974: XVII, 36). In the following
verses, the charnel grounds are described in detail, and it is stated that
they are crowded ~ith yogins and siddhas (id. XVII, 36-45).
Indeed, in the painting, a vajra-chain surrounds the charnel grounds
in a rectangle. Inside of this, the actual mandala is represented, now
with a full vajra and fire circle around the palace. As Tsuda notes, the
13th century Sakyapa scholar Buton (BlI-ston Rin-chen-grub; 12901364), commenting on the Sal?lvarodaya, reverses the relationship of
vajrapaiijara and charnel grounds on the basis of the understanding
of his time. No wonder then, that in the Tibetan depictions the charnel
grounds are sometimes represented inside and sometimes outside the
vajra and fire-circles. However, either way, they are an integrative part
of the mandala and much less representative of the ground in which
the mandala has to be established, as is seen in the Metropolitan
Museum thangka.

***
The charnel grounds themselves are another interesting element
that shows considerable change through time. Most of the elements
described for them, regardless how much the textual sources diverge
29 Similar configurations are known from Dunkar cave 1 and Saspol-tse (only the
right-hand part of the fourth assembly is preserved).
30 This type of representation is found in the Assembly Halls of Alchi and Sumda
as well as on the ceiling of cave 2 in Dungkar (Luczanits 2004: tig. 132; Pritzker
1996: fig. 18).
31 To be sure, the 8-deity mandala of Cakrasal11vara in The Metropolitan Museum
of Art thangka follows the description in Sadhanamala 250 (see Chandra 2003:
695-99) while the Sal!lvarodaya describes a 14-deity mandala (id. 697).

On the Earliest Mandalas in a Buddhist Context

121

concerning their names, are comprehensive parts from the earliest

textual sources onwards. The Mahasiddhas, however, are seldom
described and commonly not specified for them.
In Tibetan painting, there is a particular group of eight siddhas that
occupies the charnel grounds. It is thought that this particular group
has become prominent because of their representation in the charnel
grounds. However, in a study dedicated to this group of eight siddhas,
I have tried to demonstrate that the issue is more complex (Luczanits,
in press-a).
As in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Cakrasarpvara mandala,
crowds of siddhas are an integrative part of early charnel ground
depictions. However, it is not a group of eight distinctive siddhas that
is represented heading those assemblies. Such a distinctive group as
it is found in Tibetan painting can be traced back to the environment
of the pupils of Phagmodrupa (Phag-mo-gru-pa, 1110-1170) with
./igten-gonpo (' ./ig-rten-mgon-po, 1143-1217) or Drikung Rinpoche
and his school taking a special role in canonising this group.
However. it is not the Drikung group that finally becomes
canonised in Tibet, but a Sakyapa variant of it where Virupa replaces
Padmavajra among the eight. H In addition, Virupa tak-es the position
in the western charnel ground, which in common mandala depictions
is represented on top. This shift may well explained by the political
predominance of the Sakyapa school in the late thirteenth and early
fourteenth centuries and the special role of this school in the
systematisation of Tibetan Buddhism. The resulting group commonly
has Indrabhilti in the bottom charnel ground (east) and features
clockwise: QOJ'pblheruka, Nagarjuna, Ghal)~apa, Virupa, Luyipa,
Kukkuripa, and Saraha.

***
The same period and context is also responsible for yet another
canonisation, namely the orientation of the secondary mandala deities.
While it is clear that the main deity mostly faces east, the orientation
of the other deities has been disputed. In the Shingon twin mandala,
western Himalayan art and painted mandala assemblies, all deities face
in the same direction as the main deity (Figure II ).,13
This may also occur in the Dunhuang drawings, but there is no
consistency in this regard.J1 Later Tibetan mandala depictions follow
32 Curiously, in the Drikung group, Virilpa has becn auxiliary to Indrabhuti in the
group of eight.
33 This way of representation can be seen as a continuation of mandala assembly
depictions (Figure 2).

122

Christian LUGzanits

the Metropolitan Cakrasarp.vara mandala (Figure 10) in that they

represent the secondary deities facing the main image. 35

***
The relationship of visualised mandala to depiction may account
for another element that comes into the mandala at a fairly late stage,
namely the vUvavajra as foundation of the mandala palace. Although
a canonical element of the standard Tibetan depiction and later
descriptions, this element is neither mentioned in the root texts I have
looked at and referred to here, nor does it occur in the Dunhuang
mandalas I have surveyed.
In the earliest examples of western Himalayan art, such as the
Nako mandala referred to already, it is also not represented. By the
time the monuments of Alchi and Dunkar where painted with different
Yoga-tantra mandalas, the prongs of the vi.~vavajra only occasionally
appear to the sides of the doors. 36
Since the vi.svavajra is a regular element in the visualised mandala,
but not described with the outlining of the mandala, it too appears to
have been included in the latter in the course of its systematisation.

***
It is unclear to me when the mandala actually became round on
the outside. Buddhaguhya's Dharmama~lflalasatramay well already
assume a round exterior, but his formulation is too abbreviated to be
clear. 37 By the time the Tibetans absorbed mandala rituals on a great
34 Note that in Figure 5. all deities face the central one while in Figure 6 all
surrounding elements face outwards.
35 As I have been informed by Jeff Watt, Sakya Pandita discusses this point in detail
in one of his communications.
36 Among the four major mandalas in the Alchi Dukhang, the Trailokyavijaya
mandala does not have prongs. In Dunkar, the prongs are not depicted.
37 Generally. the terminology in which the mandala is described needs to be scrutinised
in a separate project. Surrounded or embraced does not necessarily mean circular,
as interpreted in the secondary literature arguably under the impression of the Tibetan
mandala, and the metaphor of the wheel and its parts which is sometimes used may
also be understood symbolically. However, the usage of wheel terminology may be
an indicator of the period and context in which the mandala became round outside.
A case in point is Snellgrove's translation of the Hevajratantra, where he interprets
pula / 'phar ma as meaning circle (Snellgrove 1959: 170), a translation 1 have not
found in any of the relevant dictionaries. Consequently, his translation of
Hevajratantra /1.5.50-51 gives the impression that the text actually describes a circle
around the square palace. Taking the other occurrences of the word into account,
pl/ra. from pur-grasp, embrace, occurs in the descriptions of an inner and an outer
group of deities inhabiting the mandala and defines their relative position. Farrow
and Menon ( 1992) translate the word as enclosure/enclosing.

On the Earliest Mandalas in a Buddhist Context

123

scale during the "later diffusion", the mandala may thus well have been
round already. It is this form that then was canonised by the eleventh
century scholar Abhayakaragupta in his eminently influential trilogy
featuring the the Vajravalf and the Ni~pannayogavall.38
Abhayakaragupta placed particular emphasis on the Kalacakra
mandala, a mandala that had just become known in his time. 39 The
Kalacakra includes and represents a cosmological system that
postulates that the foundation of the cosmos consists in increasingly
solid circles or disks stacked on top of each other. These circles
forming the foundation of the universe are represented on the outside
of the Kalacakra mandala just inside the fire-circle (Brauen 1997: xxx).
Due to this intimate relationship with the imagination of the cosmos,
the Kalacakra mandala had to be round outside. Thus, it may well have
been the Kalacakra mandala that finally led to the shape of the standard
Tibetan mandala depiction as we know it.

***
However, rudimentary this survey is, it is clear that the mandala
assembly, the visualised mandala, the ritual space with the mandala
drawn into it and the standard later depiction as it has been
systematised in the Tibetan tradition are separate entities that should
not be confounded with each other, especially when working with early
textual and visual sources. Certainly, these different forms of the
mandala have influenced each other over time, but it should not be
taken as given that they all correlated with each other from the very
beginning. In this perspective, it would certainly be worthwhile to
study the historic development of the mandala anew.
The conception that the mandala has all its elements from the very
beginning is, in fact, not only contradictory to human nature and
development, but to the very tradition that established the usage of
mandalas. After all, the mandala, drawn and visualised, is only a means
for a practitioner that still has to be trained.

***
38 The third text is the Jyotirmafijarf that deals with the homa rituals. Until now,
none of these eminently important texts, probably finished in the first decade
of the 12th century (BUhnemann 1992: xvi), has been translated. However, they
are integrative part of a number of studies (Bhattacharyya 1981; BUhnemann
and Tachikawa 1991; Lee 2004, 2003; de Mallmann 1986; Mori 1997). On the
important Tibetan mandala sets based on the Vajravall, see e.g. Leidy and
Thurman (1997: 21, 22, 24-26); Huntington and Bangdel (2003: 306-326) and
Heller (2004).
39 Martin Brauen's study of mandalas (1997) largcly depends on the Kalacakra
mandala as well.

124

Christian Luczanits
When taking things up as the object of mind,
even the unagitated lord is brought down.
The circle of the mandala brings wholly to ruin
the Buddhas, the world,
all the goddesses and wrathful protectors. 40

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130

Christian Luczanits

Figure 5: Avalokitesvara MaJ:lQala (after Whitfield 1982: I, fig. 50).

On the Earliest Mandalas

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a Buddhist Context

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131

132

Christian Luczanits

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Cafter Dunhuang bao zang 112,98 bottom)

133

134

Christian Luczanits

On the Earliest Mandalas in a Buddhist Context

135

Figure 10: Cakrasarpvara MaJ:lQala, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,

Rogers Fund (1995.233)

136

Christian Luczanits

Practice and Meditation

Figure 11: Cakrasal11Vara Mal).4ala, Wan la, photo: C. Luczanits 2003 10,12

MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
HISTORY AND CULTURE

Edited by
DalTol Bryant
Susan Bryant

Tibet House, New Delhi

 2008 Tibet House. New Delhi

Contents
Preface
ISBN 978-81-906891-4-4

Inaugural Address

VII

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Key Note Address

xvii

Ven. Bhikkhu Piisc7dika

ORIGIN AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Origin of Mahayana Buddhism

Dr. Wangchuk Dorjee Negi

Published by
Tibet House
Cultural Centre of H.H. the Dalai Lama
I, Institutional Area, Lodhi Road
New Delhi-II 0003, INDIA
Tel: +91-11-2461 1515
Fax: +91- 11-2462 5536
E-mail: tibethouse@airtelmail.in
Website: www.tibethousenewdelhi.org

The Pure Land Buddhist Thought of Shinran:

A Japanese Buddhist Perspective on Truth

Prof Dennis Hirota

PHILOSOPHY
The Role of Polemics in Tibetan Mahayana Thought

27

Prof Jose Ignacio Cabez6n

SOCIETY AND CULTURE
Spread of Mahayana Buddhism Today:
A Sociological Exploration

47

Dr. Renuka Singh

LITERATURE, ART AND ICONOGRAPHY
The SukhavatIvyuhasutra of the Ulaanbaatar
Manuscript Kagyur

61

Prof Shunzo Onoda

Pi'inted at lndraprastha Press (CBT), New Delhi-II 0002

Images & Practices of Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism:

AvalokiteSvara, Chenrezig, Kuan-yin, Kannon

Prof M Darrol Bryant

71

IV

Notes on the Study of Pali Version and Tibetan

Translation of Mahiiparinfrvil1}asiitra

101

Dr. Jampa Samten

On the Earliest Mandalas in a Buddhist Context

II I

Preface

Dr. Christian Luczanits

PRACTICE AND MEDITATION
The Heart of Buddhist Meditation and
the So-called Tantric Principle

139

Ven. Bhikkhu Piisiidika

Cutting to the Chase: The Problem of 'Mind' in
the Context of gCod

Michelle Sorensen

153

This publication is a collection of papers presented at the fourday "International Conference on Mahayana Buddhism: History and
Culture" organized by Tibet House at India International Centre of
New Delhi in November 2005. The inspiration for this conference had
come from His Holiness the Dalai Lama's keenness to promote a
scientific and comprehensive study of the various aspects of Mahayana
Buddhism including the history, art, literature and symbolism.
Mahayana Buddhism has thriven on logic and analysis, profound
exercises in Shamatha and Vipashyana, and a relentless scientific
scrutiny and study of the mind. It does not fight shy of the tests of
contemporary scientific investigation and sees no reason why openminded scientific inquiry should ignore the findings that the Mahayana
tradition holds dear.
Eminent scholars and participants from sixteen countries gathered
to explore 'synchronical' possibilities in order to gain insights. His
Holiness the Dalai Lama has very kindly gave the inaugural address
and Ven. Bhikkhu Pasadika, Hon. Prof. at Phillips-University Marbug,
Germany the Keynote Address. Prof. Dr. Michael Hahn, PhillipsUniversity Marburg, Germany; Prof. Jose Cabezon, University of
California, Santa Barbara, USA; Prof. M. Darrol Bryant, University
of Waterloo, Canada; Prof. Linnart Mall, University ofTartu, Estonia;
Prof. Dr. Shunzo Onoda, Bukkyo University, Japan; Prof. Deborah
Klimburg-Salter, University of Vienna, Austria; Dr. Chhaya
Bhattacharya-Haesner, Museum of Indian Art in Berlin, Germany;
Dr. Christian Luczanits, University of Vienna, Austria; Prof. Ram
Shankar Tripathi and Prof. Geshe Yeshi Thabke from Central Institute
of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath; Prof. Ramesh Chandra Tiwari,
Chief Editor of the Encyclopedia of Himalayan Studies; Prof. Hari
Shankar Prasad, University of Delhi; Dr. Wangchuk Dorjee Negi and
Dr. Jampa Samten from Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies,
Sarnath; Dr. Mathew Varghese, University of Madras and others were
the speakers of the conference.