Meet Wang, a Tibetan monk

Recently I met a Tibetan monk called Wang.  He is a man with great humour and wisdom.  I do not have a picture of him but I think of him as in the picture of the Tibetan monk in this article.

In the Tibetan culture Wang means empowerment. An empowerment is a ritual which initiates a student into a particular practice. A tantric practice is not considered effective until a master has transmitted the corresponding Wang (power) of the practice directly to the student. As part of the preliminary practices before a student even begins the actual practices, the teacher introduces the student to the ‘mandala’ of the deity.

Chenrezig sand mandala created at the House of Commons, UK when the Dalai Lama visited in May 2008

A mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol representing the Universe. It can be used for focusing the attention of the student, as a spiritual teaching tool and an aid to meditation. The outer circle symbolises wisdom. Inside the circle are the square walls of the palace inside which is the deity. The student learns the Mandela in great detail and then hands it back to their teacher to indicate they are now ready to learn the actual practices.