Mandalas are circular images that have developed as an aspect of Buddhism, a religion which originated in India and is now practiced in a variety of forms by many people in China, Japan and Tibet, as well as in Canada and throughout the world. The geometric forms and images within the mandala have sacred meanings, often used to assist in focusing the attention required to meditate. The round mandala can help Buddhists concentrate, it can remind them of the Enlightenment they are seeking and the deeds of Buddha, and it can aid them as they contemplate lessons and teachings. Sometimes compared to architectural blueprints or aerial views of celestial palaces, mandalas can represent the journey towards Enlightenment at the top or centre.

Buddhist Monks creating a sand mandala

Mandalas are created by Buddhist monks from sand, paint, sculpted and coloured vegetable butter, flowers, fabric and even architecture; they represent the effort to unite with the cosmic nature of Buddha. Mandalas may be housed inside a temple, where they last for hundreds of years, or they may be created and cast into the sea upon completion, like the sand mandalas.

For Jack Wise, these circular images were basic to all cultures, and in fact all forms of life. He saw these sacred circles in the stained glass of French Gothic Cathedrals, the beads of North American First Nations peoples and the drawings of Da Vinci. He utilized them as a link between East and West.

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