As a teacher of sacred Tibetan buddhist art in the Gyuto Monastery tradition, Lama Tendar is highly skilled in creating both painted and sand mandalas, and also making butter sculptures. Mandalas are a sacred representation of the mind of enlightenment. Painting mandala is a life changing experience as it helps to develop patience, tolerance and mental clarity, and cuts through negative habitual patterns.

Lama Tendar patiently takes each student through a journey of creating their own mandala. Though its design is formalised, each completed mandala reflects the personal spiritual evolution of the individual making it. Ultimately it is a personal journey of spiritual growth and self-discipline.

Lama Tendar teaches the meanings of the mandala symbols, as well as associated practice. The mandala is a pure land of enlightenment. This is an unique opportunity to refine the quality of one’s mind and thus generate peace and happiness in the world.

Mandala Day Class

Sustain your effort of mandala painting by attending monthly day classes. Share a day with like minded people, receive instructions so that you are able to continue your work at home, or at the mandala-practice days organised by the Mandala Club. This is a good opportunity to cultivate virtuous inner qualities.

In these classes, one works towards completing a full mandala, or just enjoys drawing individual symbols. All are welcome. No artistic background is required. Everyone is a perfect artist for painting buddhist mandala. Lama Tendar will guide you step by step from beginning to completion. This is the supreme way to generate peace in the world.

Limited accomodation is available for interstate participants. $55 per night including meals. Booking is essential. You are invited to bring a plate of food to share lunch with the class.

MANDALA RETREAT

Lama Tendar teaches the authentic buddhist mandala in Gyuto Monastery tradition, that is originated from an unbroken oral lineage of the Buddha. The retreat offers an unique way to discipline the mind. It has the effects of practicing calm abiding and insight meditation. It’s a supreme art therapy that removes mental obscuration, purifying mental habitual patterns that hinders the recognition of the true nature of mind. Confidence and positive energy arise through the joy of drawing and painting the symbols of the mandala. If proper concentration is applied, one hardly notices the passing of time. The process of constructing a full mandala generates one’s mind to be the same as the enlightened mind.

Lama Tendar teaches a wide variety of mandalas, depending on the mental disposition of the student. Starting with the compassion mandala, one could continue the journey with other mandalas such as peace mandala, wisdom mandala, eight auspicious symbols, medicine buddha, and Yamantaka mandala. To paint the Medicine Buddha and the Yamantaka mandala, one needs to receive initiation. Each mandala, including each symbol of it, is the manifestation of the qualities of the deity. Therefore painting mandala is a great offering of positive energy to the universe. It is thus a great way to generate merits.

Come to enjoy a six-day journey of deepening in mental tranquility through meditation and mandala painting fully guided by Lama Tendar. The contents of the retreat include:

Morning Meditation generating one’s mind to be the same as the enlightened mind of deities.

Explanation of the structure of the mandala and the meaning of the symbols.

Painting the chosen mandala fully guided by Lama.

MATERIALS TO BRING TO CLASS

1. Compass
2. White rubber
3. HB pencils
4. Ruler
5. Sketchpad A4 or A3
6. Pencil sharpener
7. Paint and brushes:
8. Watercolour brushes size 0, 1 and 2
9. Flat bristle brush size 1/4
10. Acrylic paints: suggested brands (artist quality) Matisse, Atelier, and Golden
11. Cadium yellow light
12. Ultramarine blue or cobalt - deep blue can be lightened with white
13. Napthol crimson (red)
14. Black
15. White
16. Orange bright
17. Pathalocyanine green
18. Gold
19. Paper towel
20. Baking paper
21. Small white plate for paint
22. Flat kitchen sponge or chux
23. Rag
24. Piece of soap to clean your brushes

MANDALA CLUB

Mandala club is a social group of Lama Tendar’s mandala students. We help each other stay focused in completing our mandala. We have been having a practice day each month. We start with an early morning meditation to generate a pure motivation of benefiting all sentient beings. During the practice days, we do home work which we received from monthly mandala classes or the mandala retreats.

Through the mandala club, students have made requests of additional mandala classes and/or retreats from Lama Tendar. This has generated a continued flow of classes and practice days, for students to sustain the efforts of conditioning the mind through painting mandalas, and to make our humble contribution to world peace.