A mandala of the Gelug order

In this unusual mandala from Mongolia, the deity—along with its retinue in each surrounding quadrant—appears in symbolic form: as the stylized thunderbolt called a vajra. Intentionally mysterious, some mandalas include deities, like this one, that remain difficult to identify with certainty.

In traditional Buddhist practice, details of the visualization technique must be received from a teacher with an authentic practice lineage. That is what we see above the mandala, where three lamas of the Gelug order of Himalayan Buddhism face toward us. At the top presides the abbot Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), founder of the Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhist monks; he is accompanied by two unidentified Mongolian monks.