Losang completed the lhanam of the Mandala of Enlightened Body. This is the floor of the first level of the Kalachakra Palace. The entire rim depicts the lunar calendar in symbolic form. There are 12 animals, each representing one month of the year. Each animal bears a lotus whose petals represent the days of the month. In the center resides a pair of deities.
Thus, each lotus becomes a cushion to 30 deities representing the 30 days of the lunar month, totaling the 360 days of the lunar year.
The mouse carries a white lotus flower as does the deer, peacock and duck who are also in the corners. In Tibetan Astrology, red is symbolic of the energy of the sun and white is symbolic of the energy of the moon.
Today ended with the completion of the foundation wall which is easy to see above defined by the green, black, red, white and yellow solid lines.
The calendar does not move from one animal to the next in a linear fashion but jumps from one month to the next month in a seemingly random order. This is one reason why scholars today debate that the Kalachakra is a teaching handed down directly from the Buddha.
Photos and text provided by Lyn Dean.