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MANDALAS OF BALI
OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD
DEWA NYOMAN BATUAN
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V I I
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Foreword by Dewa Nyoman Batuan
Introduction by Lawrence Blair
MANDALAS IN LIFE LIFE IN MANDALAS
Why mandalas?
Balinese concepts of harmony in the mandalasDots, lines, symbols, and signs
CREATION
Gods and Goddesses
Universe and its elements
Lingga-Yoni
LIFE
Humans in the world
Meditation
Other creatures
Plants
Sacred places mountains
DEATH, REBIRTH, AND MOKSA
ARTISTS BIOGRAPHY
Life story
Exhibitions, awards, collections
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1
MANDALA IN
LIFE LIFE IN
MANDALA
WHY MANDALAS?
I know that mandala is a Sanskrit word for circle. The
term is used to refer to various kinds of magic circles,
circular images of microcosm and macrocosm, and
various shrines for ritual and meditation found across
the Hindu-Buddhist world. It is also the name of the
chapters of the Hindu holy book, Rig Veda. In the West,
the psychologist Carl Jung also descr ibed the mandala
as a symbol of the self and inner harmony.
Because my paintings bear some relation to all of
these ideas, I call them by this popular term: mandala.
While mandala paintings are not traditional in Balinese
art, my own understanding of mandalas, and my choice
to paint them, grew out of my direct personal experi-
ence and practice of Balinese religion and culture.
In Bali, we believe that all life and experience is
grounded in a dual reality. This includes both tangible
reality all aspects of life we can know through our
senses, which we call sekala, and intangible reality
all aspects of life we cannot know through our senses,
which we call niskala.
For me, the significance of the mandala and
the practical purpose for making and meditatingon mandalas is to delineate the circle that con-
nects the tangible (sekala) and intangible (niskala)
reality of life within infinite space and time, in order
to move toward sacredness, pur ity of hear t, and
peace of mind.
Let me offer some simple analogies to explain what
I mean.
Everything in life seems to come in threes and tomove in circles.
For example, the earth turns on its axis, giving us
morning, day, and night. We experience time as a circle
of three: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We are hungry,
we eat, we eliminate. We wake up, work, and sleep. We
are born. We live. We die .
Although our perceptions of life are defined by finite
times and spaces, the process of life is actually infinite.
Beyond the horizon we can see, there is always another
horizon; beneath the ground that supports us there is
always another layer of earth. There is always something
further right of what is on our rightmost edge, left of
what is on our leftmost edge; before yesterday there
was another yesterday, and after tomorrow there will
be another tomorrow.
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I2
MANDALA OF EXPANDING AWARENESS
From the center of our own small circle, our awareness can expand to the whole universe
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3M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF SEEING EACH OTHER
We see others from inside out; they see us from outside in; our mutual perceptions form a shared circle.
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I4
MANDALA OF LOTS
Rich, poor, wise, stupid whatever our lot in life, all of us are just tiny points in infinite time and space .
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5M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
even though I have never seen Him. Because He dwells
in everything, He has no finite form. He exists even
though He does not exist in mater ial terms.
Based on either point of view scientific or spiritual
all the contents of life essentially come from, andboil down to, tiny points or dots that form circles within
infinite time and space.
That is what my mandala paintings are all about.
Giving form (goba), power (bayu), and sense (rasa)
to the living circle through which existence transforms
into non-existence, and non-existence transforms into
existence.
Fathoming the line that connects the tangible andintangible dimensions of life which, when we can
instill and hold it in our consciousness, leads us toward
the sacred.
Serving as tools for meditation: to help us find the
balance, purity of heart, expanded awareness and peace
of mind we need, in rapidly changing, uncertain times.
BALINESE CONCEPTS OF
HARMONY IN THE MANDALAS
The mandala paintings reproduced in this book arose
out of my daily meditations on the nature of being:
Why are we here? Where do we come from? What
is our purpose in the world? These and many other
questions of this kind emerge from my heart ever more
insistently as I grow older.
My mandala paintings are inspired and informed by
the following core concepts from Balinese-Hindu phi-
losophy, culture and spirituality, which I have been slowly
learning, practicing, and integrating into my life and work
throughout my journey.
The same is true in the realm of knowledge. We
search for meaning in our lives, yet the more wisdom
we gain, the more we may come to feel as if our lives
are insignificant. The more science and technological
know-how we acquire, the more ignorant we become,the more we still need to know. We have to keep learn-
ing again and again.
In the material realm, we wish to possess things, but
the more we own, the more we feel we lack and desire
to have more . (That is why we need to be able to limit
ourselves. Without limits, it is hard to achieve content-
ment in this fleeting life).
So we can conclude that:Life is ever changing, perpetually turning like a wheel.
Sometimes we are on top, sometimes on the way up or
down, and sometimes we just have to be at the bottom.
The only constant is change itself. Whatever exists
must also cease to exist. Whatever lives must die. We
cannot have the one without the other.
From this holistic perspective, it follows that what is
non-existent in fact exists, or is part of existence, andwhat dies is in fact still alive, or is part of life.
For example, if you take a stone or a clump of earth,
and you break it up into small pieces, and keep break-
ing it up into smaller and smaller pieces, it will turn to
powder, and then eventually disappear, leaving nothing
tangible behind. But the power or energy of that stone
or clump or earth still continues to exist.
Modern physics confirms that all matter is made up
of empty space, composed of energetic particles so tiny
they cannot even be seen under a microscope.
Similarly, most religions teach that there is an invisible,
yet eternal, spiritual reality that underlies, yet transcends
our visible yet transient, material reality.
I personally believe in a Creator God who created
existence out of non-existence. I am sure He is there
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7M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF FOUR DIRECTIONS
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I8
MANDALA OF PHILOSOPHY
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9M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF IS OR E YES
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1 1M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF THE WORLDS BEAUTY
Lines, forms, and colors give us a sense of how beautiful the world is.
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I1 2
MANDALA OF THE BEAUTY OF SIMPLICITY
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1 3M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF COINS
Old Chinese kepeng coins are used in sacred rituals to bring harmony.Money can support happiness and bring us to heaven as much as it can ruin happiness and bring us to hell.
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1 5M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
Southeast: Mahesvara, pink
South: Brahma, red
Southwest: Rudra, orange
West: Mahadeva, yellow
Northwest: Sangkara, green Center : Shiva, all colors mixed together
Eye: symbolizes the eye of the soul, the I that sees,
and the fact that God always keeps an eye on us. This,
along with many other symbols of divine protection, is
traditionally used in ceremonial drawings on leather or
cloth made to request divine protection (kekasang).
Genitri: a holy string of 108 prayer beads symbolizing
balance and the boundlessness of knowledge, which
requires continuous learning.
Banten: the cutout and woven palm leaf offeringsused in all Balinese rituals, each containing shapes (cross,
circle, triangle, and square) and bits of food, flowers, and
other ingredients representing different aspects of the
cosmos.
Cili: a particular type of offering (banten) representing
the Goddess of rice, to request and/or give thanks for
fertility.
Kayon or Kayonan: symbol of the world tree, which
marks the neutral center between the positive and nega-
tive energies of the universe in Indonesian shadow puppet
theater, where it is used to signal the start of a play and
scene changes, as well as to represent natural landscapes.
Padma(lotus): The lotus is the seat of Shiva; its eight
petals represent the eight powers of Shiva and eight
directions of the compass, while its heart stands for the
Oneness of God and world. It is a symbol of the mac-rocosm and microcosm, since the lotus seed contains
within itself a perfect miniature of the future plant. As
a flower that roots in mud, grows in water, and flow-
ers in the air, the lotus is also a metaphor of the three
phases of mutation from spirit to matter to spirit in the
tripar tite structure of the universe.
"
Tapak dara: a cross based on tapakdara a plant witha cross-patterned leaf (vinca rosea/periwinkle) with heal-
ing properties, chewed by lactating mothers and people
recovering from illness. Both the plant and the symbol are
used in various life cycle ceremonies to ward off negative
influences and attract goodness and peace.
Swastika: also deriving from tapakdara, the swastikais an ancient Hindu symbol of the wheel of eternal
change, the path of the sun, and the rotation of the
earth on its axis.
Pengider buana: the sacred compass that organizes
the world, composed of nine cosmic directions or ori-
entations (nawa sanga), represented by eight cardinaldirections emanating out of a center. Each direction is
a station where divinity is manifest or dwells in spe-
cific forms, signified by different names and colors, for
example:
North: Visnu, black
Northeast: Shambu, grey
o East: Isvara, white
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I1 6
Calligraphic symbols
: Ongkara or Om, a Sanskrit symbol of Ida
Sanghyang Widhi Wasa, which breaks down into the
three sounds or letters:Ang, Ung, Mang.
:Ang, Ung, Mangrepresent the three divine
powers of Brahma (creation), Vishnu (sustenance), and
Shiva (destruction and transformation).
:Ang Ahalso stands for duality (rwa bhineda,
positive-negative, male-female energy).
Turtle and serpents (naga): Bedawang Nala, the world
turtle, who carries the world on its back, is a symbol of
world balance. The turtle is flanked by two naga who
are the prime movers that look after our mor tal needs
for safety, food, shelter, and clothing.
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1 7M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF SIGNS AND SYMBOLS
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I1 8
MANDALA OF WORLD SYMBOLS
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1 9M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF STRAIGHT, CURVED AND ANGLED PATHS
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I2 0
MANDALA OF THREE SIGNIFICANT LINES
Three significant lines in the cycle of growth, maintenance, decay of the flowers of life.
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2 1M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF THE CROSS (TAPAK DARA)
Physical and mental balance with what is above and below, before and behind, right and left of us.
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I2 2
MANDALA OF EIGHT DIRECTIONS
Ask for harmony and protection in eight cardinal directions.
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2 3M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF SHARPENED INTELLIGENCE
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I2 4
MANDALA OF CHANGING TIMES
As individualism increases, and collectivism decreases, our connection with the divine decreases, too.
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2 5M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF MENTAL GROUNDWORK
The hard work of our hands and feet clears the ground for the work of our minds.
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I2 6
MANDALA OF POSITIVE-NEGATIVE BALANCE
Seek balance between positive and negative, body and spirit.
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2 7M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF COLOR MIXING
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I2 8
MANDALA OF CONNECTING LINES AND SHAPES
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2 9M A N D A L A I N L I F E L I F E I N M A N D A L A
MANDALA OF JEWELS
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M A N D A L A S O F B A L I3 0
MANDALA OF THE DIVINE COLOR COMPASS