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Lesson
plan for incorporating the Nova Video, "Lost Treasures of Tibet"
Video
Prior to viewing video
1. Assign groups to research the basic tenets of Buddhism such as: Who
was Buddha? What do Buddhists believe? How do Buddhists view nature? Where
is Buddhism practiced today? By how many people? Have students record
their findings. Conclusions may vary as Buddhism is extremely complex
and many interpretations of Buddhism exist. Be sensitive to students who
may practice Buddhism. As they watch, organize students into groups and
have each group take notes about different areas of Buddhism revealed
in their initial research.
After Watching
1. Have students combine what they learned in the program with their research
and report their final notes about Buddhism. Did anything in the program
change or add to what they learned in their earlier research? What, if
any, further questions do they have?
2. An anthropologist is a scientist who studies human beings both in the
past and in the present. Ask students to come up with reasons that anthropologists
would be interested in the religion or religious art of a society. What
might be learned from studying a society's religion?
Objective
To create a mandala-style piece of art.
o copy of the "Designing
a Mandala" student handout (PDF)
o paper
o colored pencils
1. Anthropologists and sociologists study cultural art and religion partly
because they reflect other aspects of a society. One of the religious
and artistic expressions important to Buddhists in Lo Monthang is the
mandala. The circle represents the cosmos and is used as a guide to meditation.
Tell students they will be creating their own mandala, and that, like
a traditional mandala, it should have symbolic meaning of their own choosing.
2. Provide a copy of the "Designing a Mandala" student handout
to each student. Review with students the meaning of some of the components
represented in the Chenrezig mandala shown on their student handouts.
3. Have students create their mandalas. Tell them that symmetry is an
essential quality of mandalas, with each mandala built on a series of
concentric circles. Ask them to consider and choose angles and geometric
shapes that will create symmetry in their mandalas.
4. After students have determined some shapes, have them create their
symbol systems. As they do so, have students think about what is important
to them, including people, places, objects, and beliefs. Have students
create a chart describing what each symbol means, including colors and
their meanings.
5. Once the mandalas are created, have students write short poems or essays
explaining what their mandalas symbolize. Then organize the class into
four groups. Have each group display its mandala pictures together in
one area, putting a number on each picture. Then have members put letters
on their descriptions of the mandalas and display the descriptions with
the drawings (but not matched up).
6. Once all groups are done, assign groups to different stations. Have
each group member first look at each mandala and try to interpret its
meaning and then read the descriptions and match them up with the corresponding
mandalas.
7. Conclude by discussing the different ideas that students' mandalas
symbolize. How close were students' original interpretations of each others'
mandalas to the actual descriptions?
8. As an extension, have students compare their mandalas to real ones.
For photos of Tibetan mandalas, visit the Himalayan
Art web site.
:
Tibetan monks may spend weeks creating an intricate sand mandala, only
to destroy it within seconds to symbolize the spirit of impermanence and
non-attachment to the material world--that everything is in the process
of passing away and returning. Sand mandalas are usually gathered in a
jar, blessed, and poured into a river or stream where the water disperses
the healing energies of the sand.
Each mandala is designed to invite people to greater awareness of various
aspects of Buddhist teachings and desirable qualities, such as compassion,
wisdom, or strength. Some of the colors used in a Chenrezig mandala, which
represents compassion, include white, green, blue, yellow, and red. A
mandala usually contains three levels: The outermost level represents
the world in its divine form, the inner level depicts a map toward enlightenment,
and a secret level represents the perfect balance between body and mind.
Every aspect of a mandala has meaning, from the shapes and symbols chosen
to the colors used.
Students' mandalas may show a great variety of forms, symbols, and colors--they
should reflect some consciousness of the use of shapes and of symbols
with meaning to the student artist. There is no right way to design or
interpret a mandala.
Books
Jackson, David, and Janice Jackson. Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods
and Materials. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1984.
Describes the sacred art of Tibetan scroll painting, from composition
to application.
Articles
Day, Nicholas. "The World in a Grain of Sand." Washington Post,
August 5, 1998, page C1.
Describes the process that Tibetan monks use to build and destroy a five-foot
mandala made of millions of grains of crushed, vegetable-dyed marble sand.
Shacochis, Bob. "Kingdoms in the Air." Outside, October 2002,
page 158.
Describes the Mustang region, including life in Lo Monthang.
Web Sites
NOVA's Web Site -- Lost
Treasures of Tibet
www.pbs.org/nova/tibet/
Provides program-related articles, interviews, interactive activities,
and resources.
The Mandala Project
mandalaproject.org/Index.html
Invites the submission of mandalas to an online gallery and discusses
the importance of the mandala in different religious traditions.
A New Ceiling for
the Roof of the World
www.asianart.com/ahf/index.html
Discusses the restoration of the 15th-century Thubchen Gompa monastery
in Mustang.
The Mandala of Chenrezig
www.webster.edu/depts/artsci/religion/mandala/index.html
Presents Webster University's Mandala of Chenrezig and includes information
about the Buddhist religion and a link to the World Wide Web Virtual Library
for Buddhist studies Web sites.
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