The Tibetan mandala is our guiding metaphor, but we also find context for this work in Western culture. The search for the universal within the infinitesimally small is a quiet theme playing through most cultures. Indeed, the truth of the forest may be more clearly and vividly revealed by the contemplation of a small area than it could be by donning ten-league boots, covering a continent but uncovering little.
I believe that the forest’s ecological stories are all present in a mandala-sized area. The parallel runs deeper than this congruence of language and symbolism. One translation of the Sanskrit mandala is “community,” so the monks and the students are engaged in the same work: contemplating a mandala and refining their minds. They will study their circle of land for the rest of the afternoon, observing the workings of the forest community. The class will continue in a nearby forest, where the students will create their own mandala by throwing a hoop onto the ground. The students are visiting the mandala at the beginning of their first laboratory class in ecology. They are uncharacteristically quiet, perhaps caught up in the work or stilled by the otherness of the monks’ lives. The whole universe is seen through this small circle of sand.Ī group of North American undergraduates jostle behind a rope nearby, extending their necks like herons as they watch the mandala’s birth. The mandala is a re-creation of the path of life, the cosmos, and the enlightenment of Buddha.
None of these qualities, however, define the ultimate purpose of the mandala’s construction. The mandala has significance at many levels: the concentration required for its creation, the balance between complexity and coherence, the symbols embedded in its design, and its impermanence. The mandala will take several days to complete, then it will be swept up and its jumbled sands cast into running water. The four gates of the palace open out to concentric rings of symbols and color, representing steps on the path to enlightenment. The monks work from the center of the circular pattern, following chalk lines that define the fundamental shapes, then filling in hundreds of details from memory.Ī lotus flower, symbol of Buddha, lies at the center and is enclosed by an ornate palace. Each fine stream adds another line to the growing mandala. Colored sand spills from the tips of the funnels onto the table. Two Tibetan monks lean over a table, cradling brass funnels in their hands. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Printed in the United States of America Designed by Nancy Resnick Includes bibliographical references and index. The forest unseen : a year’s watch in nature / David George Haskell. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA Haskell, David George. Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, Englandįirst published in 2012 by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.Ĭopyright © David George Haskell, 2012 All rights reserved Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
0 kommentar(er)
