It is impossible to attain the twofold purity of Buddhahood or to realize fully the truth of emptiness without completing the two accumulations of merit and wisdom.
The Conqueror, in his great compassion and with all his skill in means, taught innumerable methods by which the two accumulations can be performed. The best of all these methods is the offering of the mandala.
In this tradition, when making such an offering, we use two separate mandalas: the accomplishment mandala and the offering mandala.
The Accomplishment Mandala
Begin by arranging five piles on the accomplishment mandala.
The [centre] heap represents Vairochana surrounded by his retinue of many deities of the Buddha lineage.
A second heap in the east (meaning towards yourself) represents Akshobhya and his retinue of deities in the Vajra lineage.
To the south of Vairochana place a third pile of rice representing Ratnasambhava surrounded by deities of the Jewel lineage.
A fourth [offering] behind [the west] Vairochana symbolizes Amitabha and his retinue of the Lotus lineage.
A fifth on Vairochana’s left [the north] represents Amoghasiddhi with his retinue of the Karma lineage.
Another possibility is to visualize the field of merit as in the refuge practice. The central pile would then represent the Great Master of Oddiyana, inseparable from your own root teacher, with all the teachers of the Great Perfection lineage above him, arranged in order, one above the other. The front pile would represent the Buddha Sakyamuni, surrounded by the thousand and two Buddhas of this Good Kalpa. The pile on the right would represent his eight great Close Sons surrounded by the noble sangha of Bodhisattvas, and the pile on the left would represent the Two Principal Srävakas, surrounded by the noble sangha of Sravakas and Prayekabuddhas. The pile at the back would be the Jewel of the Dharma, in the form of stacked-up books encased in a lattice of light rays.
Common Correlations in Mandalas
(except in the tradition of the Kalacakra Tantra)
| Aksobhya | Ratnasambhava | Amitäbha | Amoghasiddhi | Vairocana | |
| Meaning of name | The Immutable | The Jewel-born | Infinite Light | Accomplishing What is meaningful |
Illuminator |
| Color | Deep blue | Yellow | Red | Green | White |
| Direction | East | South | West | North | Center |
| Animal | Elephant | Horse | Peacock | Garuda or bird-man | Lion |
| Mudrã | Earth Touching (bhumisparsa) |
Gift Bestowing (va-rada) |
Meditation (dhyäna) |
Fearlessness (abhaya) |
Turning the Wheel of Dharma (dharmacakra) |
| Aggregate | Matter (rupa) |
Sensation (vedana) |
Perception (samjinana) |
Volition (samskara) |
Consciousness (vijnana) |
| Seed Syllable | HÚM | TRAM | RIH | ĂH | OM |
| Wisdom | Mirror-like (adarsainana) |
Equalizing (samatajnana) |
Disciminating (pratyaveksanaliana) |
All-Accomplishing (krtyanushttanajñana) |
Ultimate Reality (dharmadhatujnana) |
| Element | Water | Earth | Fire | Air | Space |
| Emblem | Vajra | Jewel (ratna) |
Lotus (padma) |
Crossed Vajra (visvavajra) |
Wheel of Dharma (dharmacakra) |