Complex Mandalas Are Adopted as Ritual Instruments for Meditation

Mandalas — symmetrical cosmological drawings that depict a deity or Buddha in an open structure surrounded by relevant figures, symbols and motifs — attain a high level of complexity and become an integral visual component of meditative practices in Vajrayana Buddhism, mainly in Tibet and Bhutan. 

Over the preceding centuries, Tantric ideas heavily influenced the esoteric Buddhist sects that eventually assimilated into Vajrayana Buddhism, bringing Tantric iconography with them. The further development of a cosmology that consists of ‘families’ and other groupings of bodhisattvas, Buddhas, symbols and mythical realms then forms the basis of complex, diagrammatic mandalas. Made under the patronage of the Palas and other dynasties, these are accompanied by a rigorous focus on meditation and mentalistic practices believed to concentrate and guide the devotee’s mind. Despite the decline of Buddhism in India during this period, mandalas and other imagery from Vajrayana Buddhism begin to form the foundation of Buddhist iconography, rapidly spreading through existing trade, diplomatic and religious networks into Southeast Asia, Tibet and beyond.