Air Water Ground: The Christians have a mandela too

Monday, May 18, 2015

The Christians have a mandela too

A Mandela/Mandala (Sanskrit: मण्डल Maṇḍala, 'circle') is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism. But Christians have one also. The Shield of the Trinity

Known from the time of the Middle Ages in Europe,but probably of early origin, possibly not long after the concept of the Trinity was made dogma in 325 AD, at the First Council of Nicaea.
Karen Armstrong and other scholars of Christianity have written that such a symbol was carved on the walls of the earliest monasteries which would serve as a point of concentration for novitiates. While starring at it they would pray/chant the words incessantly until achieving "a loss of self into the oneness of God".

Satori anyone?

The Shield and its chant/prayer would probably work quite well in this use. If there is only a single god, it illustrates a non-logical/irrational concept, an "impossibility" language-wise, (i.e. Zen's What is the sound of one hand clapping?). Therefore, perfect for mystical contemplation.

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Spinning Away (Eno/Kale)

Up on a hill, as the day dissolves

With my pencil turning moments into line
High above in the violent sky
A silent silver plane – it draws a golden chain

One by one, all the stars appear
As the great winds of the planet spiral in
Spinning away, like the night sky at Arles
In the million insect storm, the constellations form

On a hill, under a raven sky
I have no idea exactly what I’ve drawn
Some kind of change, some kind of spinning away
With every single line moving further out in time
And now as the pale moon rides (in the stars)
Her form in my pale blue lines (in the stars)
And there, as the world rolls round (in the stars)
I draw, but the lines move round (in the stars)
There, as the great wheels blaze (in the stars)
I draw, but my drawing fades (in the stars)
And now, as the old sun dies (in the stars)
I draw, and the four winds sigh (in the stars)