On September 21st, I went to the diversity event on Tibet. There were a few monks there that opened the presentation by chanting. I thought that was super cool because we don't get to really experience that here in America. Then, the speaker started. He was also a monk, but he also has his doctorate and has a lot of knowledge in philosophy. In his homeland, he was said to be thought very highly of, so I'm glad he came to ISU to talk to us. The presentation was about the symbolism of the mandala. The mandala is basically a circle with a lot of detailed art that represents the spirit. He said that it is for emotional well-being, and reduces stress and anxiety. He stressed that it doesn't necessarily have to represent a religious aspect, but mainly deals with your spiritual needs. There are five colors represented in the mandala: blue, white, red, green, and yellow. The middle circle symbolizes the unbreakable teaching. The four points represent the four imaginables, like joyfulness, compassion, love, and being equal. The mandala also tries to represent ignorance, attachment, anger, pride, and jealousy. These factors are usually what take us off the path and bring negative emotion. The negative emotion is what is needed to be eliminated. This gives us the perfect view of reality.
I thought the lecture was really eye-opening. It was cool to see how different cultures live their lives. I also thought it was neat that they can use a symbol like the mandala to help them live, and they actually follow it. This lecture made me want to see how cultures around the world live.
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