ABSTRACT
A man.d.ala is a Tibetan religious image that is used for meditation. In the 1920s
the psychoanalyst Carl Jung discovered man.d.alas and began using them as
part of his therapy. He had his patients draw pictures, and he would analyze
them to find out their unconscious thoughts. In Jung’s sense of the word, a mandala
is any circular image with symbols, from round windows in medieval cathedrals to
Navajo sand paintings. Jung’s interpretation has nearly taken over from the original
meaning. Real Tibetan man.d.alas are interesting, complex objects, and a great deal
has been written about them. I have listed some books at the end of this volume; but
the subject here is mandalas without the Sanskrit diacritical marks-that is, man-
dalas as they are understood in the West.
