School of Education
Curriculum & Teaching
Prof. John Toth, Ph.D. / jtoth@hunter.cuny.edu
MANDALA: systems of order
MAPPING THE UNIVERSE...
or a day in your life
MANDALA and CIRCLES OF LIFE
IDEAS: An interdisciplinary approach to the arts considers multiple ways of organizing spatial relationships that occur in our lfe.
THEMES: Explore systems of order: (circles, pie charts, maps, time lines) that show balance, order, symmetry, systems
ART ELEMENTS: Circle, square, color
ART PRINCIPLES: Symetry, balance, unity, emphasis.
AIM: Understand the use of cirlcles as a metaphor for cycles of life.
OBJECTIVE: Create a Mandala that represents 12 sections that depict aspects of your life with a central image that is the focus of your life.
LINE OF INQUIRY: How do many cultures use circles and squares as mapping techniques to organize the imagery in their art.
Performance: Advanced
Dance - Identify the cultural elements in a variety of dances drawn from the folk and classical repertories.
Music - Analyze music from various cultures.
Theater - Understand the interaction of performer and audience in dance as a shared cultural event
Visual Arts - Examine works of art from US cultures and place them within a cultural and historical context.
art supplies
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SKILL OBJECTIVE: Create a circle drawing to map and orgnize a cycle of events in your life.
SKILL ART ACTIVITY: Take a few minutes to write down all the things in life that children need to know that recur in cycles of a day, month and year. Draw 4 concentric circles that are roughly 1.5' apart. Use shapes, symbols and icons to draw all the elements of each cycle within each circle. in the center circle draw a symbols that rpresents the title of your mandala.
REFLECTION:
Take a gallery walk around the room. Make a list of all the interdisciplinary themes and ideas that you see.
MATH:
Fractals - Fractal Domain - U-Tube
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Mandalas - Wikipedia
Mandalas, Circles, Sand mandalas, Wheel of Fortune, (Myth, Legend and Folklore), Math & Mandala
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The word mandala means circle. The character of these designs have concentric geometric forms. The designs symbolize the universe, totality, wholeness and other beliefs. Mandala, India. Mandalas are designs associated to Hinduism and Buddhism.
1...............................2......................................3...............................4......5
....
.... 
1.Tibet 14th c. - 2.China, T'ang 6th c. - 3. Navajo, Bird Nester Myth
SAMPLE ACTIVITY 
Mandala Artworks 1 - Mandala Artworks 2
Art from India, China, Tibet, Japan, Africa, America and Hunter students
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CREATIVE ART ACTIVITY: Make a self-portrait mandala that uses 4 to 5 concentric circlesor squares to balance all the different things you do in a day,month, year and lifetime. Each circle should contain a unique theme: work, family, play, hobby, interesst, ect.. Use paint or color craypas to create shapes, lines and symbols that represent your ideas. Your design should radiate in and out from a central point. Rotate the drawing as you work so there is no top, bottom or side or any reference to gravity. Try to achieve a balance on all sides. Draw a symbol in the middle that holds your life together.
REFLECTION: Take a gallery walk around the room. Make a list of all the interdisciplinary themes and ideas that you see.
The basic construction is a square (the earth) containing a circle (the heavens) - we are on and of the earth and contain 'heaven', the spiritual, the Truth. Both shapes have a shared center and the nature of their primary geometry draws the eye to this as we are naturally drawn to Truth. The addition of four arrows retains the symmetry and strengthens the center. The two factors which determine the design of a mandala are: center + symmetry
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CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION: Instructions to make a Buddhist Mandala can be found at the below web site
http://www.abm.ndirect.co.uk/leftside/actives/mandala.htm
- Mandalas have largely evolved as a meditation
object and underlying all approaches to meditation is the aim of strengthening
awareness - that ability to be present in the moment and to know the
nature, the full extent, of that moment. The mind can so easily drift from
this moment and the main way to strengthen the ability to hold it is by
developing various concentration techniques. In The ravadan scriptures mandalas are
referred to as kasina (= all, complete, whole). Ten are mentioned in the
Suttas: earth, water, fire, wind, blue, yellow, red, white, space and
consciousness. The Visuddhi Magga also mentions limited-space and light as a
further two. They are generally quite simple - e.g. a blue disk (e.g.
painted, or of cloth or flowers) or a sod of earth or a bowl of water. The
most complex forms are found in the Tibetan tradition - notably the sand
mandalas.
- Making a more complex mandala can be an exercise in concentration in itself
and the relationship of various elements and their meaning can used as
material for ongoing contemplation. This is creating a symbolic or universal
mandala. They can also be be used as a tool in psychotherapy - exploring
emotions, attitudes, relationships, etc. through art and the use of different
materials, colors, etc. This is more related to the dynamics of making a
'personal' mandala and won't be considered here. Having said that it is not
really possible to make black and white distinctions between the two and the
paradox of personal = universal lurks in shadows which I will not disturb
here. This item looks mainly at the practical aspects of how to make a
mandala.
- Its function as a meditation object:
Any meditation
object needs to be significant or stable enough to hold interest or attention
- it should center the energy of the mind. A mandala provides a very
tangible, external center. For those of a mentally unsteady nature a
small one is suitable; a large one for a dull nature; a beautiful one for an
angry (negative, self deprecating) nature and an ugly one for a lustful
nature - or inclusive combinations. The style of your mandala should be
primarily according to what is useful rather than what you like.
ASSESSMENT: Use State and National Art Standards, Blueprint for the Arts, Common Core Standards for ELA and Math to review the lesson.
Here is a transcription of classic mandala practice: "At first one should fix the whole attention on the disk as the initial object and so produce 'preliminary concentration.' While constantly gazing at the disk, one must strive to remain mentally alert and aake to avoid hypnotic sleep. One must also keep from the mind all outside impressions and thoughts of other objects as well as any internal impressions or thoughts - the disk alone exists and all around seems to disappear. Now, whether the eyes are open or closed one perceives the mentalised disk - this is the 'acquired image.' As soon as this becomes steady and vanishes no longer and remains fixed in the mind one should move away from the mandala and continue the exercise. As one strengthens the mental image it becomes continually steadier and brighter until it can be seen as the 'counter-image.' This is the arising of 'neighborhood concentration.' Continuation of this exercise will eventually produce 'attainment concentration' which can lead to higher states of absorption."
The other aspect of using a mandala is the sense of 'pilgrimage' involved. As one moves toard the center - symbolic of the spiritual journey - one has to pass through various stages (rites of passage, purification, obstacles, hindrances, delusions, etc.). These can be symbolically represented on your mandala. A classic example of this is the Wheel of Life which contains enough information to warrant a page of its own.
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MandalaSurvey: Mandala
