In the advanced practices known as "tantra," [read more about tantra here], meditators dissolve their ordinary self-image of a solid, permanent “me,” and instead imagine themselves in the form of a yidam, or Buddha-figure. These represent one or more aspects of a fully-enlightened Buddha, such as the relatively well-known example of Avalokiteshvara as the embodiment of compassion. Tantric practitioners imagine themselves in the form of Avalokiteshvara, and feel that they embody compassion just as he does. By imagining that we’re already able to help others just like the Buddha-figure can – while being fully aware that we are not quite there yet – we can build up the causes for our own enlightenment efficiently and effectively.

A mural painting of the mandala of the universe at Sera Monastery, Tibet, 2015.

Buddha-figures live in totally pure worlds known as mandalas, with the term “mandala” referring not just to the environment of that world, but also the beings who inhabit it. Each of the worlds is slightly different, but in general they comprise of an ornate square palace situated in the middle of a beautiful landscape, surrounded by a round protective barrier that wards off interferences to the meditation practice. The main figure could be male or female, on their own or as a couple, sitting or standing in the center of the palace. They’re often surrounded by an array of other figures, and sometimes there are additional figures outside the palace as well. Many of them have multiple faces, arms and legs, and hold a variety of hand implements.

Engaging in tantric practice requires an empowerment or initiation, [read more about initiations here], a beautiful and elaborate ceremony led by a fully-qualified tantric master. During the empowerment, a two-dimensional drawing of the Buddha-figure’s mandala is arranged near the master, normally painted on a cloth or made of sand, and then enclosed inside the wooden frame of a simplified version of the palace. If we visualize mandalas, however, we always see them as three-dimensional.

During the ritual ceremony, the master confers vows on the initiates and grants permission to enter the palace, whereby they imagine themselves walking inside. Through various visualizations, their so-called “Buddha-nature” potentials to achieve enlightenment through the practice are activated. If the mandala was constructed out of sand, the grains are swept into a pile in a closing ceremony, representing impermanence, and offered into a body of water.

A full view of a completed Green Tara mandala, created by monks from Drepung Loseling at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2009. Image: © Zlatko Unger

After this, the initiates are empowered to visualize themselves as the figures and the mandala as part of their daily practice. Each figure and the implement they hold represents something associated with the meditation practice. For instance, the six arms of a figure might represent the six perfections or far-reaching attitudes.

Practitioners not only imagine that they are all the figures inside and outside the palace, but they imagine that they are the palace as well, with the various architectural features of the mandala palace also representing various aspects of meditation practice. In some mandalas, the four walls might represent the four noble truths, while the palace being square with equal-length sides indicates that in terms of emptiness or voidness, the Buddhas and the not-yet-enlightened are equal.

A three-dimensional Guhyasamaja mandala in a monastery in Central Tibet, 2011.

Some very advanced tantric meditations even have visualizations of parts of their body as parts of the palace, or various figures of the palace situated inside their own body. This is called a “body mandala,” and is difficult because it requires excellent concentration and a thorough understanding of Buddhist philosophy.