Palcho Monastery Kumbum Stupa: Diamond Realm Mandala

CHINA, Tibet, Gyantse

This early 15th century Diamond Realm Mandala is painted in the middle of the left wall in the east shrine on the fifth level of the Kumbum Stupa. Vajrayana mandalas first appeared between the late 7th and early 8th centuries. According to the Vajrasekhara Sutra, there are as many as 28 different variations of the Diamond Realm Mandala. In Anandagarbha’s Commentary on the Vajrasekhara Sutra, written in the 8th century, he claims that there are 44 such mandalas, of which 40 are painted on the walls on the fifth story.
Like most mandalas, this one is composed of concentric circles and squares. Vairocana Buddha sits in the center, most likely forming the bodhyangi (wisdom fist) mudra. The other four of the Five Dhyani Buddhas, Aksobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and Amoghasiddhi, are arranged around Vairocana according to their corresponding direction. Four Bodhisattvas surround each Buddha, and four more Bodhisattvas sit in the circular sectors between them. The gates in the center of the four sides of the square are guarded by a Bodhisattva flanked by two dakinis on each side.