Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 08:4 (Fall 1965)
Article: A Christian Appraisal Of Mandala Symbolism In Tantric Buddhism And In The Psychology Of Carl Gustav Jung
Author: Donald Neiswender

BETS 8:4 (Fall 1965) p. 159

A Christian Appraisal Of Mandala Symbolism In Tantric Buddhism And In The Psychology Of Carl Gustav Jung

Donald Neiswender

Introduction

For the purposes of this paper, the titles “Eastern” and “Western” have been chosen to designate the Mandala concepts of the Tantrists and C. G. Jung respectively. One might perhaps just as well have termed them “Ancient” and “Modern.” The chosen titles, however, are intended to point up the fact that there is a basic difference between the historical attitudes of the Oriental and Occidental man. Western man finds it difficult to see beyond this present world, while Eastern man has difficulty in giving proper attention to any world other than the spiritual. There are, of course, exceptions to this, but the generalization holds.

The attempt is here made to understand what the Tantric Buddhist sees in the Mandala, as well as to perceive its meaning for Jung. This understanding then becomes the background against which the Christian may approach the Mandala to ask, “Is there a place in the Mandala for Jesus Christ?”

I. Eastern Mandala

Tantric Buddhism

The Mandala of Buddhism is an artistic depictation of reality as a whole. It may be expressed in painting, in architecture or in colored sand or rice. But before describing a Mandala in more detail and speaking of the use to which it is put by Buddhists, one must first consider its origin.

The Mandala is not a universal symbol in Buddhism. It seems to be totally absent from the Theravada (Hinayana) and even in the Mahayana it is found principally in the Tantric sect of Tibet.

The name “Tantric” is derived from the name of the scriptures of this sect, which are called Tantras.1 Sometimes this entire school is also called the Tantra. Tantrism is characterized by an exclusiveness which repudiates all other sects and by a strong stress upon invocations (mantras), ritual gestures (mudras), and other magical elements which are looked on as aids to enlightenment.2

The entrance of these elements into Tibetan Buddhism cannot be pinpointed in time with any degree of accuracy. This is due to the fact that the Tantra was originally occult and esoteric. It is only after the year A. D. 500,

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when a more public phase began, that records begin to appear.3 But even after this date, Tantrism remains somewhat obscure. For example, when Edward Conze, perhaps the leading Buddhist scholar of Europe, tries to date the composition of t...