Skip to: Content | Footer
Printable Geometrically Designed Turkish tile images for kids
Tiles
Stained Glass Window Corner Decorations
Corners
Beware the Evil Eye with come for you
Evil Eye
Kaleidoscope Stained Glass Mandala Designs for kids to color
Coloring
Good Luck Charms, Talismans and Medallians for kids to color
Charms
Paper Jewelry patterns for children
Jewelry
Stained Glass Valentine Mandalas for Children of any age
Valentines
Discover the wonder of symetrically designed Mandalas & Turkish Tiles
Mandalas
Bring Good luck with Native American Dream Catchers
Mandella

Exploring the Mandala: What are Mandalas? For Young Children

What are Mandalas - Free and copyrighted

True Tibetian Mandalas - Buddhist Tantric Diagrams

View the Paper Mandala Glossary of Terms


The word "Mandala" is Sanskrit for "whole world" or "healing circle."

Mandalas are historically used as symbols to help people meditate, and for protection and healing rituals.

Mandalas can be simple or complex circular designs which tend to draw the eye inward to the center of the Mandala design.

This is the basic structure of a Tibetian Mandala:
The mandala is often illustrated as a palace with four gates, facing the four corners of the Earth.

What designs can you make on this Mandala Template?

Click on the image to view/print without page formatting.

Basic structure of a Mandala

Common or typical colors and designs to use on a mandala:

Center:

The symbol of Buddha (Vajra) lives in the center of the Mandala.

He is surrounded by eight meditating Buddhas.

These Buddhas are symbolic deities: four male and four female

These figures face the "corners" of the earth and together form a lotus flower.

Click on the image to view/print without page formatting.

center lotus

Male Buddhas:

Color Element Means of Transport
Center: Vairocana White Ether Lion
West: Amitabha Red Fire Peacock
East: Aksobhya Blue Water Elephant
South: Ratnasambhava Yellow Earth Horse
North: Amoghasiddhi Green Air Mythical Bird

Female Buddhas For Young Children

Byname
Southwest: Mamaki The Peculiar
Northwest: Pandaravasini Lady in White Clothing
Southeast: Locana Eye of Buddha
Northeast: Tara The Saviouress

When finished, a Mandala based upon the template above might look like one of these three images:

Symbols of the Mandala For Young Children

How are Mandalas Used?

Tibetan monks use Mandalas in rituals of tantric initiation. The Mandala design is divided into four quarters with one monk assigned to each quarter.

The Mandala is an imaginary palace that the Tibetan Monks contemplate during meditation.

Monks at Tibetan Buddhist monasteries learn to construct mandalas as part of their training.

Tibetan Mandalas are created by carefully pouring grains of colored sand onto specially prepared platforms.

The creation of a mandala can take up to 9 days. Then after the Mandala is finished, it is soon destroyed.

All the colored sand is collected into a container and the sand is ritually poured into a stream or river so the waters can carry the healing energies of the Mandala throughout the world.

Images of Monks constructing a Mandala, Images of Monks sacrificing the Mandala to the river

The Mandala - Sacred Geometry and Art This is an excellent article which shows all the images for making a traditional mandala.

Early Tibetan Mandalas: The Rossi Collection

Mandalas on the Internet

Free Mandala Colorbooks Online

On the Lighter side...

More Colorbook Fun

These links all have mandala images along with a whole lot of other cool coloring pages