Body Mandala

A large human figure stands on a colorful lotus blossom, facing us against a background of mountains, sky, and clouds. Numerous small images of Tibetan Buddhist deities populate the landscape and float in the sky. Images of deities are also seen within the body of the figure. They appear in the face, in the legs and feet, and many are arranged in the petals and interior of symbolic lotus blossoms that line the figure’s central axis.

This vision of the interior of a human body derives from the Himalayan tradition of “body mandalas.” These complex paintings map a spiritual cosmos onto the human body, and are found in Hinduism, the indigenous Tibetan religion, Bön, and, like this one, in Tibetan Buddhism. In forms of advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditation, practitioners use visualization to transform their bodies into a dwelling space for deities and envision themselves as enlightened buddhas.

The imprecise iconography, simple lines, and repeated, schematic shapes suggest that this is a work of “village art,” paintings made by untrained or self-taught artists that are sold to pilgrims and tourists at the entrances to Buddhist temples.