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What is a Mandala?
'Mandala' is of Hindu origin, the
term being used for the books of the Rig Veda, but is
also used in other religions such as Buddhism. In the
Tibetan branch of Vajrayana Buddhism, mandalas have
been developed into sandpainting. They are also a key
part of anuttarayoga tantra meditation practices.
In various spiritual traditions,
mandalas may be employed for focusing attention as a
spiritual teaching tool; for establishing a sacred space;
and as an aid to meditation and trance induction. According
to David Fontana, its symbolic nature can help one "to
access progressively deeper levels of the unconscious,
ultimately assisting the meditator to experience a mystical
sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which
the cosmos in all its manifold forms arises."
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