940 242 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west
The Primordial Mandalas of East and West:
Jungian and Tibetan Buddhist Approaches to Healing and Transformation Judson Davis ABSTRACT A comparative analysis of Jungian depth psychology and Tibetan Buddhist Tantra reveals a fascinating array of similarities, which are united in their most essential form through the manner in which mythic imagery is employed in both disciplines as a powerful agent of inner transformation. Various forms of creative engagement with sacred symbols--including mandalas--are enacted in each tradition as a vehicle through which latent spiritual potentialities can be brought forth into consciousness, a process that is greatly enhanced through a number of dynamic artistic techniques and contemplative practices. It should be emphasized from the outset that both disciplines represent complex systems that include sometimes widely varying notions of a higher spiritual order or ultimate reality. However, despite any differences in ontological postulations or metaphysical precepts, they share a number of surprising and sometimes striking characteristics. For example, both emphasize the mind, or psyche, as the foundational basis of existence and the primary means through which liberation (in the tantric tradition) and psychic wholeness (as in Jungian psychology) are pursued. Each also emphasizes the realm of dreams (e.g., dream analysis in depth psychology and dream yoga in Tibetan Tantra), contemplative and creative visualizations (such as the focus on wisdom figures and sacred symbols), and an assortment of other practices that are designed to effect a reconciliation of opposites and the attendant union of masculine and feminine principles. Their respective methodologies thus represent essential avenues through which to deepen an understanding of human natures far-reaching spiritual capacities while demonstrating the vital role that mythic imagery--and in particular the mandala--plays in the process of healing and inner transformation. Key Words: mandala, Jung, depth psychology, Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, healing, spiritual transformation DOI Number: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 NeuroQuantology 2016; 2: 242-254* A mandala is compassion, it is form, it is infinite wisdom expressing infinite love. . . . It opens a door of liberation, a gateway to freedom, a portal to the infinite. Denise Leidy and Robert Thurman (Leidy and Thurman, 1997, p. 130)
Introduction1 cosmic unity, psychic wholeness, or the very
essence of the life source, this primordial symbol For thousands of years the mandala has arisen as holds a prominent place in an array of traditions a central theme in the cultural expressions and as diverse as Tibetan Buddhist Tantra and religious manifestations of homo-sapiens. Jungian depth psychology. As a connecting link, it Variously understood to represent sacred space, also serves as the basis for a comparative study of these two dynamic disciplines, a process that Corresponding author: Judson Davis, Ph.D. upon deeper analysis reveals a number of Address: Leopalace Espoir Maison, 2-26 Yabemachi, Machida City, Tokyo, Japan, 194-0214. surprising and sometimes striking similarities. Phone: + 81-080-5884-9061 e-mail judsondavisphd@gmail.com It should be noted from the outset that both Relevant conflicts of interest/financial disclosures: The author of these traditions represent complex declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any psychological systems that possess their own commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. distinctive characteristics and include sometimes Received: 18 March 2016; Revised: 04 April 2016; widely varying notions of a higher spiritual order Accepted: 05 April 2016 eISSN 1303-5150 www.neuroquantology.com NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 243 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west or ultimate reality (the apparent incongruity unconscious, and are thus viewed in both systems between the Jungian Self and the Buddhist no-self as symbolic representations of the individuals being a primary example). However, regardless of own inner processes and spiritual potentialities. the differences in ontological or metaphysical The noted Jungian writer and psychotherapist pronouncements, it can be said that both systems Robert Johnson (1986) stressed that when we are committed to the treating and healing of experience the images, we also experience the human suffering as well as the inducement of inner parts of ourselves that are clothed in the spiritual awakening through creative and images" (p. 25). Echoing a similar perspective, contemplative methodologies that share a Lama Yeshe (2001), in referring to the practice of number of intriguing characteristics (Moacanin, tantric visualization, emphasized that: 2003). Artistic expression in both traditions, for the deity we choose to identify with example, acts as a vehicle for eliciting psychic represents the essential qualities of the healing and spiritual development, and both fully awakened experience latent within us. disciplines place particular emphasis on To use the language of psychology, such a approaches in which mythic imageryincluding deity is an archetype of our own deepest the mandalais utilized as a powerful agent of nature, our most profound level of inner transformation. Both emphasize, the mind, consciousness. In tantra we focus our or psyche, as the foundational basis of existence attention upon such an archetypal image and the primary means through which liberation and identify with it in order to arouse the (in the tantric tradition) and psychic wholeness deepest, most profound aspects of our (as in Jungian psychology) are pursued. Each also being and bring them into our present emphasizes the realm of dreams (e.g., dream reality (p. 30). analysis in depth psychology and dream yoga in Tibetan Tantra), meditative visualizations (such The facilitation of spiritual development as the focus on wisdom figures in both through such means is linked directly with an disciplines), and an assortment of other practices essential precept that lies at the foundation of that are designed to effect a reconciliation of each systemthe primacy of psychic reality opposites and the attendant union of masculine (Moacanin, 2003). Each system also posits the and feminine principles. In addition, each intimate interrelationship of all phenomena, and discipline emphasizes a radical shift away from this notion of inseparable union, of the the ego as the center of ones identity toward the interconnectedness between all things and realization of an inseparable union with a processes, is especially relevant as it pertains to timeless, all-encompassing psychic reality. the psychic relationship of subject and object (i.e., observer and observed). This is particularly well Whereas the Jungian tradition focuses on demonstrated in the texts of the Tibetan the bringing forth of unconscious material as a tradition, as John Clarke (1994) astutely means of furthering the individuation process observed in relation to the Bardo Thodal, The (with its reconciliation of light and shadow Tibetan Book of the Dead: aspects and its impetus toward wholeness) through bridging ego-consciousness with the Self, The emphasis throughout the treatise is on the Tibetan tradition emphasizes the dissolution the doctrine that the only reality is mind or of the ego (as a separate self) and the ultimate consciousness, and that all things, including awakening in the clear light of bliss, known as material reality, are mind-made. Dharmakaya (Moacanin, 2003). This process, it is Furthermore, all minds, and hence all believed, is aided by the bringing forth and existing things, are manifestations of the extinguishing of adverse psychic forces (such as Absolute or One Mind (p. 127). karmic traces) as well as the conscious The reading of the above work, combined realization of the practitioners highest spiritual with his exposure to another enigmatic Buddhist capacities, as signified in the mandala, mythic text, the Tibetan Book of Liberation, provided deities, and various other forms. Within this Jung with what he felt was significant validation context, the psychic entities and numinous for many of his own theories regarding the symbols that arise within the psyche--and which primacy of psychic reality. In Jungs (1992a) in many cases serve as the focus of creative words: visualizations and meditative practices--are understood as manifestations of the deep eISSN 1303-5150 www.neuroquantology.com NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 244 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west In the meditation it is realized that the important foundational introduction. First of all, Buddha is really nothing other than the the word mandala is an ancient Sanskrit term activating psyche of the yogithe that predated historical Buddhism by many meditator himself. It is not only that the centuries (Leidy and Thurman, 1997). Loosely image of the Buddha is produced out of translated, it means circle, and very early on, ones own mind and thought, but that the mandala had the generative meaning of a circle as psyche which produces these thought- a universal symbol for womb, for breast, for the forms is the Buddha himself (p. 567). nurturing source of life (p. 130). This term may also pertain to: any circle or discoid object such as the Previous Research sun or moon. In etymological studies, it is A number of noted scholars and practitioners in sometimes divided into manda--best part, both traditions have previously made highest part, highest point--and la-- contributions to comparative analyses of these signpost or completion. The combination two disciplines. Aside from Jungs rather is explained as a place or point which extensive work in this area (1958; 1963; 1974; contains an essence. In the Vedic 1992a; 1992b), Daniel Meckel and Robert Moore Brahmanas, some of Indias earliest and (editors), in their book Self and Liberation: The most influential pre-Buddhist Jung/Buddhism Dialogue (1992), provide an array philosophical texts, mandala already of comparative viewpoints through numerous signifies a sacred enclosure and is, at contributors, of which the editors introduction times, understood to mean a place created and the work of Nathan Katz (1992), Harold for the performance of a certain ritual or Coward (1992), Peter Bishop (1992), and practice, or for the use of a great teacher Radmila Moacanin (1992) are particularly or mystic (Leidy and Thurman, 1997, p. relevant to this study. Other theorists and 17). scholars such as Joseph Campbell (1962, 2003), In addition to the Indian origins outlined John Clarke (1994; 1997), and Stanislav Grof above, the mandalic form has also arisen in a (1998) have provided important but more wide range of other cultural and religious generalized cross-cultural perspectives. In contexts, and can be variously found in the vast addition, there have also been some important tombs and monumental stone circles of the publications from Western practitioners of Neolithic period, in the healing rituals and artistic Tibetan Buddhism, such as Lama Anagarika expressions of numerous indigenous peoples, and Govinda (1969), Christopher Bache (1994; 2000), in the symbols and religious iconography of the and Rob Preece (2006) that variously integrate or worlds most prominent faiths, such as in the acknowledge the intersection of depth great stained-glass windows and labyrinths of psychology and Tibetan Tantra. The writings of Christian cathedrals (Cunningham, 2002). Tibetan Buddhist scholars such as Giuseppe Tucci (2001) and Herbert Guenther (1994) also Apart from traditional religious and deserve mention, as does the work of Lama ritualistic representations, mandalas also appear Thubten Yeshe (2001), who was among the first ubiquitously in an array of other contexts. In her native practitioners to introduce tantric book Mandala: Journey to the Center, Bailey Buddhism to the West. However, despite the Cunningham (2002) presents a compelling central place that the mandala holds in each variety of circumstances in which the mandalas tradition, very little of the above work has been basic archetypal form finds expression. From devoted to a more in-depth comparative analysis astronomical formations in the heavens to of its respective meaning and usage, which in minute biological and molecular designs, and large part serves as the impetus for this study. from geometric and atomic patterns to artistic, urban, and architectural expressions, the mandala manifests in a remarkable variety of The Primordial Mandala forms and contexts. According to Leidy and As a prelude to exploring the mandalas central Thurman (1997), this framework extends to the position in both Jungian psychology and Tibetan circle of ones physical, social, and interpersonal Buddhism, an overview of its inherent meaning environments, and they thus emphasized that and widespread dispensation serves as an every being is a mandala, rather than just a point eISSN 1303-5150 www.neuroquantology.com NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 245 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west of awareness. We are the environment as much respective doctrinal precepts (Tucci, 1980). In as we are the entity in the environment (p. 128). the early decades of the fourteenth century, the The union of entity and environment (and of work of the eminent scholar Bu ston resulted in observer and observed) that is implicit in the the successful completion of the Buddhist canon above statement lies at the very heart of Tibetan in Tibet. This was part of a long-standing process tantric practice, a subject to which I now turn. that included the creation and expansion of the three still existent primary schools of this second phase, the Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelugpa traditions, Tibetan Buddhist Tantra which collectively came to be known as Sarma, or Historical Origins New Orders. Each school aligned itself with particular Buddhist teachings that traced their Buddhism, with its origins in the Indian origins to specific Indian masters. This subcontinent, was brought to Tibet in the seventh relationship between teacher (Skt., guru; Tib., century C. E. during the reign of King Songsten lama) and student became an all-important and Gampo (Tucci, 1980). There it merged, indispensable aspect of the transmission of the sometimes contentiously, with the native teachings. Despite certain differences in the animistic and shamanistic tradition (later known manner of instruction and meditative practice, as Bon), which Buddhism would eventually the four ordersNyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and supersede as the primary religious discipline. The Gelugpaare united in their adherence to the renowned mystic Padmasambhava (2005) and fundamental precepts of Mahayana Buddhism, the great monk Santarakshita made significant especially as they relate to the tenets of contributions toward the acceptance and Madyamika as outlined in the doctrinal teachings expansion of this new religious system, and in of Nagarjuna. In the words of the Tenzin Gyatso, about the year 779 it became officially the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: indoctrinated through the founding of the first great Monastery at Samye. In Tibet, due to differences in the time of translation of texts and the development In the initial period of infusion, two distinct of lineages formed by particular teachers, inclinations appeared, one espousing the tenants eight distinct schools of Buddhism arose. of Indian Buddhism, and the other favoring the Nowadays, four are widely known, tradition of Chan as taught by the Hwa shang Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelugpa. (Chinese teachers) (Tucci, 1980). An attempt to From the point of view of their tenets, arrive at a definitive conclusion regarding which they are all Madhyamaka. From the point of these divergent approaches was correct took of view of their vehicle, they are all of the place (c. 792-794) at the council of Samye. Bodhisattvayana. In addition, these four According to Tibetan sources, the Indian school of schools are all complete systems of Santaraksita emerged triumphant, but would unified Sutra and Tantra practice, each later suffer systematic repression at the hands of having the techniques and quintessential the already well-established political and instructions necessary for a person to religious orders. A gradual revival of the achieve Buddhahood within one lifetime. imported religion began to take root in the latter Yet each has its own distinguishing part of the tenth century, and during this second features of instruction (Powers, 2007, p. diffusion Tibet became almost exclusively 358). dedicated to the importation of Indian Buddhism. According to the Buddhist scholar Edward Conze Another fundamental precept shared by the four (1959), the official Buddhism of that period was schools involves the distinction between relative a mixture of Prajnaparamita and Tantra, a truth and ultimate, or absolute truth. Much discipline that combined metaphysics and discussion and debate regarding questions of magic and in Tibet still continues as a living doctrine were permitted, and at times even tradition (p. 179). strongly encouraged, during the formative periods: During the next few centuries this tradition would evolve into a number of Doctrine was dominated by a realistic prominent monastic orders (which developed view according to which nothing has real alongside the Nyingma school, the original sect) independent existence, all is void (stong that would consolidate their influence and pa, Skt. sunya) . . . all that appears eISSN 1303-5150 www.neuroquantology.com NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 246 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west superficially real can be shown to be vital energies of the chakras, plays a central role without substance at the level of absolute as a kind of alchemical container of inner truth. This was the position of the transformation. These various methods, Madhyamaka school (Tib. dbu ma), the practices, and rituals all share one ultimate aim-- system developed by Nagarjuna, who was the awakening to the truth of Dharmakaya, the the central figure of the doctrine in Tibet. timeless, indivisible, all-encompassing, and An alternative way which was open was unchanging nature of the enlightened mind. that of Cittramatra, of thought-only (Tib. sems tsam) ascribed to Asanga and Vasubandhu. According to this, apparent The Mandala, Sacred Art, and Creative Meditation reality is nothing more than a In the Tibetan tradition mandalas are produced representation made by our mind (sems, in a number of different materials that include Skt. citta), which produces all sand, thread, and even butter, but the most representations out of itself, yet is in its immediately recognizable forms are the brightly own nature also pure radiance (Tucci, colored paintings, which are typically referred to 1980, p. 31). as palace architecture mandalas (Leidy and According to Tucci (1980), the various Thurman, 1997). They are understood to Tibetan sects waiver between these two represent a sacred precinct in which a center, or positions, and avoid fixing themselves definitely central point (typically occupied by a deity), upon one system to the exclusion of the other (p. constitutes the ultimate source of all that is 31). The tantric practices of Tibet thus focus on limitless and unbounded, yet containing a center. the extinguishing of relative truthwith its In an external sense such mandalas constitute a illusory appearances and attendant sense of a diagram of a cosmos, and in an internal sense separate selfand the awakening to absolute they serve as a guide, or path, to spiritual truth, the nondual, omnipresent, all- liberation. Generally speaking, these complex and encompassing emptiness and bliss of the Buddha- elaborate forms consist of: mind. an inner circle containing a principle deity (or deities). Enclosed in a multi- level square palace with openings at the Vajrayana: The Diamond Vehicle four cardinal directions. The palace is Tantric practices, which are thought to have placed in a multi-tiered circle. Additional emerged in India somewhere between 500 and figures are generally found outside this 600 AD, appeared in the latter part of a long line large circle (Leidy and Thurman, 1997, p. of previous revisions and transformations in 17). which Buddhism was consistently rethought, This sanctified space, which may also be depicted reworked, and revised in accordance with in the form of a temple, exists as a kind of sacred different philosophical systems and cultural architecture that is designed as a generative lenses (Tucci, 1980). The tantric form of Indian womb, or container, of an utterly profound Buddhism that developed in Tibet is known in alchemical transformation (Leidy and Thurman, Sanskrit as Vajrayana, the Thunderbolt or 1997). In addition, the mandalas inherent Diamond Vehicle, and involves the use of such structure reflects a matter of imaginal world- contemplative practices as meditation, creative patterning directly affecting inner structuring of visualization, artistic expression, mantra physical and mental senses through actual brain recitation, the enactment of mudras (ritual organization (p. 143). It warrants further poses), and dream yoga as a means of facilitating mention that: spiritual development and ultimate liberation. Tantra is a Sanskrit word that means ...in Buddhist usage, a mandala is a matrix continuity. Tantra refers primarily to the or model of a perfected universe, the unchanging nature of the mind, which continues nurturing environment of the perfected without interruption from beginningless time self in ecstatic interconnection with until final enlightenment (Sherab and Dongyal, perfected others. It is a blueprint for 2006, p. 95). The body exists as a vital component buddhahood conceived as attainment not in this process, and through the activation of the only of an individuals ultimate liberation, but also as the attainment of such release eISSN 1303-5150 www.neuroquantology.com NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 247 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west and bliss by an individual fully integrated Although there are in fact numerous forms with his or her environment and field of of tantric initiations and practices (which include associates Within the vision of tantra as the Action, Performance, Yoga, and Unexcelled a world-creating process, mandalas are Yoga tantras) and a vast array of deities (e.g., models used for creating Buddha-worlds Vajrasattva, Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha, and (Leidy and Thurman, 1997, p. 127). Tara) which may serve as the focus of such practices, structures of divinity worship were Such mandalas are most commonly established that have a broad application to such created in two-dimensional painted form, but procedures (Conze, 1959). As Conze noted, the may also be constructed in elaborate three- Tantra worked out a system of meditation on dimensional designs, such as the twelve-foot in deities which is marked by a sequence of four diameter, multi-tiered Kalachakra mandala of steps (p. 185), which he outlined as follows: gold that is found in the Potola Palace in Lhasa, Tibet (Bryant, 1992). The Kalachakra system, First of all, there is the understanding of which according to the 14th Dalai Lama was one emptiness and the sinking of ones of the last and most complex tantric systems to separate individuality into that be brought from to Tibet from India (Bryant, emptiness; Secondly, one must repeat and 1992, p. xi), serves as the basis for the Kalachakra symbolize germ-syllables; Thirdly, one initiation that includes the creation of a strikingly forms a conception of the external colorful, complex, and intricate sand mandala. representation of a deity, as shown in This elaborate twelve-day ritual was first statues, paintings, etc.; Fourthly, through conferred by the 14th Dalai Lama in a cornfield identification, one becomes the deity (p. outside of Madison, Wisconsin in 1981 and has 185). since been repeated throughout the world on From this standpoint, in the first step of numerous occasions, which makes the deity meditation the practitioner is encouraged to Kalachakra mandala--with its direct association cultivate emptiness through the awareness that I to the mythic Kingdom of Shambala--perhaps the am, in my essential being, of diamond nature most representative symbol of tantric practice (Conze, 1959, p. 185). Next, he employs syllables found in the world today. (e.g., AM, or HUM) as a means of invoking his chosen deity (particular syllables correspond to specific deities). In the third step, he forms a concentrated mental image of that deity in accordance with traditional artistic representations. And lastly, the meditator is absorbed in a direct merging with the deity in which: the subject is actually identified with the object, the faithful with the object of faith. The worship, the worshiper, and the worshiped, those three are not separate. This is the mental state which is known as Yoga, Concentration (Samadhi), or Trance (Dhyana) (Conze, 1959, p. 187). This process of consecrated assimilation involves a merging of experiential dimensions, and in addressing this theme Tucci (1980) stated that the meditation processes . . . evoke the divine being and draw him down on to the human plane . . . and at the same time they raise the human being to a plane beyond human existence (p. 94). He further described this numinous unfolding as follows:
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NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 248 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west The mystic himself becomes able to non-dual awareness, the ultimate truth of transform himself temporarily into a god Dharmakaya, which, as the all-encompassing (lhar bskyed), a process familiar with Universal Mind, reveals itself as a glorious, Indian liturgy: na adevo devam arcayet, boundless union of emptiness and bliss (Gyatso, he who does not change himself into a the 14th Dalai Lama, 1995). god cannot worship a god. This principle has developed in an altogether extraordinary manner in the Vajrayana Jungian Depth Psychology and the Mandala and within Lamaism. Beginning with the Theoretical and Therapeutic Applications meditational formulae which describe the aspect and symbols of particular gods, the Jungs (1992b) contact with the Tibetan Buddhist meditator concentrates on an individual tradition proved instrumental in the confirmation form chosen by him, he transforms within and further development of a number of his his mind the place where he is into a major theories, including the universal paradise until this actually appears before archetypes. The mandala in particular took on his sight (Tucci, 1980, pp. 94-95). special meaning as both a representation of psychic wholeness and as a therapeutic model, A complete and unwavering commitment and he came to understand the significance of to this method, combined with a genuine belief in this archetypal form as having a primordial basis the heightened reality of the deity that manifests, that ostensibly extends well into prehistoric are deemed absolutely essential to the efficacy of times. According to Jung (1974): this process. David Snellgrove (2002) addressed this requirement as follows: It seems to me beyond question that these Eastern symbols originated in dreams and It would be useless to invoke any form of visions, and were not invented by some divinity, higher or lower, without Mahayana church father. On the contrary, believing in such a being. The high point they are among the oldest religious of any such right is the descent of the symbols of humanity and may even actual divinity (known as the wisdom- have existed in Paleolithic times The being or jnanasattva) into the symbol of mandalas used in ceremonial are of great the divinity (the sacramental-being or significance because their centers usually samayasattva), which has been prepared contain one of the highest religious for this mystical (or magical) conjunction. figures: either Shiva himself--often in the The practitioner is certainly taught that embrace of Shakti--or the Buddha, the divine forms are also emanations of Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara, or one of the his own mind, but they are not arbitrary great Mahayana teachers, or simply the imaginings and they are far more real dorje, symbol of all divine forces together, than his own transitory personality, whether creative or destructive (pp. 170- which is a mere flow of consubstantial 172). elements. In learning to produce mentally such higher forms of emanation and Jungs (1963) first rendering of a mandala eventually identifying himself with them, occurred in 1916 during the period of extreme the practitioner gradually transforms his psychological upheaval that followed his break evanescent personality into that higher with Sigmund Freud. This breach arose as a result state of being. Thus belief in them is of Jungs 1912 publication of his book essential; otherwise the means by which Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido, or one would progress dissolve before the Transformation and Symbols of the Libido. desired success (siddhi) is achieved (p. Subsequently renamed Symbols of 131). Transformation (1956), this work delineates the postulation that myth is the revelation of a The successful execution of these esoteric divine life in man (p. 340) and served as the practices results in a truly remarkable basis for his theory of the archetypes of the transformation in which ordinary waking collective unconscious. This revolutionary thesis consciousness--understood in Buddhist teachings stood in stark contrast to Freuds own theories as the relative truth of dualistic perception, or and led to a disheartening and irrevocable breach Maya--dissolves into an awakening to timeless, in their personal and professional relationship, eISSN 1303-5150 www.neuroquantology.com NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 249 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west for which Jung experienced a long period of in helping him to procure a diagnosis of their immense psychic turmoil. personality disorders as well as their developmental inclinations and spiritual Toward the end of the First World War, the aptitude. This led him to the understanding that: psychological pressure that had consumed Jungs (1963) life in such a trying but ultimately Mandalas are important indicators of the instructive manner slowly began to subside. This process of personal growth that moves process was aided significantly by his painting of you toward fulfilling your particular mandalas, which would substantially contribute identity and purpose in life. The mandalas to his still evolving notions of the Self and the we create indicate our premonition of a process of individuation. Jung came to the centre of personality, a kind of central understanding that the mandalic form represents point within the psyche, to which psychic unity and completeness, but as he everything is related, by which everything discovered through his own experience and that is arranged, and which is itself a source of of his patients, this image also arises energy. The energy of the central point is spontaneously in dreams and in creative manifested in the almost irresistible expression as part of the psyches inherent compulsion and urge to become what one mechanism for the healing of psychic is, just as every organism is driven to fragmentation. Jung reflected on his own assume the form that is characteristic of experience as follows: its nature, no matter what the circumstances (Jung, 1972, p. 73). I sketched every morning in a notebook a small circular drawing, a mandala, which As Jung (1972) would later discover, this seemed to correspond to my inner notion of a central point to which everything is situation at the time. With the help of related is a key aspect of the tantric tradition as these drawings I could observe my well, and Jungs understanding of the mandala as psychic transformations from day to day a mythic symbol representing both healing and My mandalas were cryptogramsin wholeness served to further his growing interest which I saw the selfthat is, my whole in Eastern spirituality and its symbolism, beingactively at work (1963, p. 195). especially as found in Tibetan Buddhism. However, Jungs therapeutic use of mandalas Such images are impressively portrayed contrasts with tantras well-established practices in Jungs Red Book (2009), which contains and techniques, with their focus on specific numerous mandalas painted during the period of deities and symbols and their origins in the long- tumultuous upheaval described above. It was the standing lineages that are passed down from creative manifestation of these images, and the teacher to disciple. According to Jung: resulting calm and psychic cohesion they produced, that led him to the conclusion that the Whereas ritual mandalas always display a mandala is the center. It is the exponent of all definite style and a limited number of paths. It is the path to the center, to typical motifs as their content, individual individuation (Jung, 1963, p. 196). Within this mandalas make use of a well-nigh context the mandala became for Jung (1972) the unlimited wealth of motifs and symbolic most representative symbol of psychic allusions, from which it can easily be seen wholeness, and accordingly he stated that a that they are endeavoring to express mandala is the psychological expression of the either the totality of the individual in his totality of the self (p.20). In the above contexts, inner or outer experience of the world, or the mandala thus serves as both an instrument its essential point of reference. Their that furthers the individuation process through object is the self in contradistinction to bringing cohesion to psychic disorder, and at the the ego, which is only the point of same time represents the self in a state of reference of consciousness, whereas the wholeness, or completion. self comprises the totality of the psyche altogether, i.e., conscious and unconscious As a result of his own experience, Jung (Leidy and Thurman, 1997, p. 162). (1972) encouraged his patients to paint their own mandalas as part of the therapeutic process, In light of the above perspective, Jung and the works they produced were instrumental (1960) chose to experiment with a variety of
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NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 250 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west techniques designed to help manifest the Philemon would become the most interplay between consciousness and the influential figure in Jungs development, and this unconscious, and he viewed creative expression mystifying and enigmatic psychic entity took on a in particular as one of the primary means of living presence in Jungs life, becoming the facilitating this process. He discovered that central focus of numerous dialogical exchanges in drawing, sand play, and other imaginal exercises which he would impart profound wisdom and involving mythic imagery--especially as it reveal the deepest of eternal mysteries. Indeed, pertains to that images and impressions that for Jung (1963), Philemon represented superior arises in the dream state--could be very effective insight and to me he was what the Indians call a in bringing clarity and form to vague feelings, guru (p. 183). Jung came to understand this images, and other manifestations of inner psychic figure as a kind of spirit guide, which can content. This proved especially useful in that "the be linked to the Tibetan notion of a yidam. These whole procedure is a kind of clarification of the entities, which are usually conferred upon effect, whereby the effect and its content are initiates by their lamas, serve as inner guides and brought nearer to consciousness, becoming at the are often the focus of tantric practices (Tucci, same time more impressive and more 1980). Such mediational deities, or tutelary understandable (p. 82). The psyches conscious spirits as they are sometimes called, may appear engagement with the mythic figures and forms in numerous emanations (e.g., as Kalachakra, that arise from the unconscious consequently Hevajra, or Vajrayogini) and in either their represents one of the most essential features of benign or negative aspects in line with the this alchemical healing and developmental developmental needs of the practitioner. process, as it signals "a movement out of the In the figure of the winged Philemon, Jung suspension between opposites, a living birth that (1963) had met his own yidam, who, as a leads to a new level of being, a new situation a personification of the Self, manifested as an quality of conjoined opposites" (p. 90). And it was archetypal representation of the wise old man (or Jungs (1963) application of creative techniques magician). This fantasy figure was directly linked in his own healing process that would prove to the entity of the same name who appeared in instrumental in bringing to clarity and fruition Ovids Metamorphoses and in Goethes Faust (this some of his most influential psychic experiences. latter work being especially influential in his life). Jungs attendant creative visualizations, which then led to pictorial representations and the full The Emergence of Philemon flowering of Philemons teachings, are Jungs (1963) engagement with the dramatic reminiscent of tantric practices in which inner processes described above--which visualization plays a key role in merging the variously occurred in dreams, fantasies, and meditator with the teachings and spiritual waking visions--took on further meaning through qualities of his or her deity (Preece, 2006). his encounters with the winged entity known as The above example also serves as a means Philemon, whom he first encountered in a dream: by which to clarify a key distinction in the There was a blue sky, like the sea, covered respective practices and precepts of the two not by clouds but by flat brown clods of disciplines. In tantric practice, enlightenment can earth. It looked as if the clods were be attained in the course of human existence, and breaking apart and the blue water of the the realized adept becomes the deity in the sense sea were becoming visible between them. of actually and fully realizing those very same But the water was the blue sky. Suddenly attributes within himself in an ultimate there appeared from the right a winged awakening to timeless, omnipresent, nondual being sailing across the sky. I saw that it bliss. In Jungs (1963) psychospiritual model, ego- was an old man with the horns of a bull. consciousness (i.e., the persona or number one He held a bunch of four keys, one of which personality) forever exists in a binary, dialogical he clutched as though he were about to relationship with the Self but never achieves a open a lock. He had the wings of the permanent state of nondual union. Thus, while kingfisher with its characteristic colors the goal of Tibetan Buddhist practice can (pp. 182-183). ultimately be achieved by the tantric practitioner, the goal of Jungs individuation process--ever eISSN 1303-5150 www.neuroquantology.com NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 251 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west greater conscious realization of the Self--exists as Tibetan tradition. Indeed, it would not be an a never ending psychic unfolding of spiritual exaggeration to suggest that Jung had, like the potentialities that requires an ongoing dyadic Kalachakra palace mentioned above, constructed relationship between consciousness and the a three-dimensional mandala in a kind of unconscious. Both systems thus emphasize a European palace architecture that served as the radical shift away from the ego as the center of sacred dwelling of a deity with whom Jung personal identity, with the Buddhist approach communed and received divine instruction. Thus focusing on the dissolution of the ego as a the Tower became for Jung (1963), in his own separate self in line with the concurrent psychological terminology, a concretization of realization of boundless unitary wholeness. The the individuation process a symbol of psychic Jungian approach, on the other hand, fosters an wholeness (p. 225). In Jungs words: ever-increasing realization of the Self as the At Bollingen I am in the midst of my true center and source of ones identity, a process that life, I am most deeply myself. Here I am, as unfolds within the context of the continuing it were, the age-old son of the mother. interplay between the ego and the unconscious. That is how alchemy puts it, very wisely, for the old man, the ancient, whom I had already experienced as a child, is The Tower personality #2, who has always been and The Tower is a truly remarkable structure that always will be. He exists outside time and Jung (1963) began to construct in 1923 and is the son of the maternal unconscious. In subsequently extended over a period of some my fantasies he took the form of thirty years. Although it is not a particularly large Philemon, and he comes to life again at edifice, it has the unmistakable appearance of an Bollingen (1963, p. 225). enchanted medieval castle or mythic sanctuary. The number two personality about whom The original conception was that of a circular Jung speaks--that boundless, eternal, Self--existed African hut with a hearth that would burn in the for him in sharp contrast to his number one center and concretize an idea of wholeness (p. personality, the historically influenced and 224). Jung further stressed that from the socially constructed persona of ego- beginning I felt the Tower as in some way a place consciousness that lived in the ordinary world of of maturation a maternal womb or a maternal time and dualistic perception. The intimate sense figure in which I could become what I was, what I of communion that Jungs experienced at am and will be (p. 225). Jung also brought Bollingen was, not surprisingly, accompanied by Philemons presence to full effect through the a sense of merging with the many animate and painting of a massive mural in the Tower that inanimate entities in the surrounding terrain, a closely resembles the original painting found in deeply felt sensation that he revealed in the the Red Book (2009). This image bears the following passage: unmistakable likeness of a deity figure, and its dominant positioning on a bedroom wall upstairs At times I feel as if I am spread out over in the central tower further emphasizes its the landscape and inside things, and am consecrated status. Immediately adjacent in the myself living in every tree, in the room next door, a magnificent, nearly floor-to- splashing of the waves, in the clouds and ceiling blue and white mandala graces the wall the animals that come and go, in the above Jungs bed. procession of the seasons. There is nothing in the Tower that has not grown The above statements and circumstances, into its own form over the decades, with their emphasis on a center contained within nothing with which I am not linked (Jung, a circle that represents a kind of generative 1963, pp. 225-226). womb, are clearly suggestive of the aforementioned principles and designs found in This sense of merging, of spreading out Tibetan mandalas. Further, in the figure of the and physically and psychologically inhabiting winged Philemon, placed in a central position in ones environment, finds resonance with Leidy the tallest of the round towers, there is the and Thurmans (1997) earlier quote that every conspicuous inference to the deity figure as being being is a mandala We are the environment as the central focus, or focal point, just as in the much as we are the entity in the environment (p.
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NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 252 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west 128). Indeed, it warrants mention that in both The Indian notion of Maya (i.e., relative truth), depth psychologys numinous experience of the which is so central to the precepts of Buddhism, Self and Tibetan Buddhisms awakening to is precisely the illusory state that Tibetan tantric heightened states leading to enlightenment, there practices are designed to dispel in order to is a concomitant sense of merging with a totality, awaken to the ultimate truth of Dharmakaya. although the two disciplines emphasize different Jung too, in the binary conception of his number experiential aspects. And as Jung (1963) grew one and number two personalities, arrived at a older and ever more attuned to the workings of similar notion, with the number two personality his inner world, he came to the ever firmer (as personified by Philemon) representing his conviction that his number two personality true self. Further, the Tibetan mandala, as the represented his true self and that the remarkable central vehicle of transformation that houses a dreams and psychic experiences that he had deity in its center, is mirrored by its three- encountered--and that are variously experienced dimensional Western counterpart, the Tower, by all human beings--represent an ongoing inner which stands as the sacred precinct of Jungs process that has a most profound objective: yidam, Philemon. The aim is to effect a reversal of the relationship between ego-consciousness Conclusion and the unconscious, and to represent the unconscious as the generator of the Jungian depth psychology and Tibetan Buddhist empirical personality. This reversal Tantra represent dynamic psychospiritual suggest that in the opinion of the other disciplines that both employ the creative use of side, our unconscious existence is the mythic imagery as a powerful agent of inner real one and our conscious world a kind transformation. Although their traditional of illusion, an apparent reality precepts diverge in many respects, at the same constructed for a specific purpose, like a time there exists a number of notable similarities, dream that seems a reality as long as we especially in relation to the mandala and its are in it. It is clear that this state of affairs attendant symbolism. This primordial form, resembles very closely the Oriental which has manifested in innumerable contexts conception of Maya (p. 324). throughout human history and is ubiquitously found throughout the natural world and cosmos, holds a special place in each tradition as a symbol of wholeness and a dynamic vehicle of healing and transformation. In addition, although there are distinct differences in certain ontological precepts as well as the related use of mandalas between the two disciplines, there also exists a number of shared characteristics. The deity worship that is so central to Tibetan Tantra also has correlations in Jungian psychology, and so too does the emphasis on the primacy of psychic reality that serves as the basis for the creative and meditational practices that both systems employ. Such practices include the fundamental axioms of ultimate truth (as exists in Tibetan Buddhism) and the true self (i.e., the Self, as found in Jungian psychology), which, while differing considerably in metaphysical conception, both emphasize a dramatic shift away from the ego as the center of the personality toward union with an all- encompassing psychic reality. And within this context, both are concerned with the
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NeuroQuantology | June 2016 | Volume 14 | Issue 2 | Page 242-254 | doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.940 253 Davis J. The primordial mandalas of east and west reconciliation of opposites and the union of would be of immense potential benefit to masculine and feminine principles. humanitys understanding of its inherent nature and spiritual potential, a subject that has already received attention in the field of transpersonal Recommendations for Future Research psychology, especially in the work of Stanislav There are many possible avenues for future Grof (1998). comparative research in this area, which could In closing, I would like to offer the last word include, for example, psycho-scientific studies to one of the pioneers in this comparative and that specifically measure changes in both cross-disciplinary study, a man who was well- physiology and brain-wave patterns in versed in the ways of the Western world (having correlation with the creative rendering of been born in Germany as Ernst Lothar Hoffman) mandalas in both disciplines. This could also be but who found his true calling in the tradition of extended to the deduction of any measurable Tibetan Buddhism in the final decades prior to effects arising from meditational focus on the Chinese takeover in 1950. He would mandalic forms in each system. A more in-depth ultimately become known as Lama Govinda, and means of identifying and assessing the various through his intimate first-hand experience in forms of mandalas that arise in relation to clinical Tibet and India, combined with his astute disorders--and how these might be more broadly understanding of depth psychology, would make applied to mainstream psychotherapy--is another among the most substantial contributions to the area of potential focus. Further, as there exists a subject matter outlined above. According to his broad consensus in both disciplines that the discerning observations and insights, it is mandala represents an archetypal form with precisely the practice of psychic engagement with great inherent healing and transformative sacred mythic imagery that serves as the properties, a research study that seeks to find foundational impetus of psychospiritual growth ways in which to actively integrate such images and reconciliation. And in deeply considering this in concentrated numbers in a given experiential profound inner process, one is reminded of his environment, combined with a careful judicious counsel, that such penetration and psychological assessment of the short- and long- transformation are only possible through the term effects on the inhabitants, could prove compelling power of inner vision, whose especially useful. And finally, further studies into primordial images or archetypes are the human encounters or experience of the two formative principles of our mind (1969, p. 91). ultimate realities posited by the two disciplines Jung could not have said it better himself. (i.e., Jungs Self and Buddhisms Dharmakaya)
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