Symmetries

An internet image search for mandalas will reveal many and varied images characterized by rotational symmetries. How do their classifications compare with the Himalayan mandalas in the Rubin Museum?

Currently on display at the Rubin Museum of Art are eight mandalas. As you ascend the 2nd to 4th floors, you meet:

Mandala of Guhyasamaja
Mandala of Chandra
Mandala of Amoghapasha
Naga Mandala Assembly
Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra Mandala
Medicine Buddha Mandala
Lotus Mandala of Hevajra (3-dimensional)
Mandala of Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Bardo

Mandala of Chandra

Let’s analyse these in terms of their rotational mandala classifiers. For example, the Lotus Mandala and the Mandala of Chandra are built around the submandala <8>, while the others use <4>. What other common submandalas and features do they have? What are the differences between them?

This blog will explore symmetry types as manifested in mandalas, in the streets of Manhattan, and beyond. It is for students in Professor Kirby’s classes, and anyone else who’s interested in spinning out the mathematical ramifications of mandalas and border patterns.