Mandala Method Levels

Mandala Method Levels

The core of the Mandala Method training is comprised of three levels, designed to be taken in sequence, with the first level open to anyone:

Level I: Wisdom Rising – Journey into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine 

Level II: Journey into the Mandala of the Sacred Masculine

Level III: Journey into the Union of  Sacred Feminine and Masculine

Level I: Wisdom Rising – Journey into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine 

Experience transformation through the power of the mandala—a universal map for inner and outer balance, wholeness, and practical awakening. This retreat offers a journey into the Mandala of the Five Wisdom Dakinis, developed by Lama Tsultrim Allione to bring emotional transformation into alignment with the spiritual path. A template of wholeness, the mandala has as its basic structure the center and four directions, represented by five families of elements, colors, seed syllables, emotions, psychological types, and wisdoms.

The wisdom dakinis are female deities in Tantric Buddhism who embody profound wisdom and the empowered feminine. Lama Tsultrim Allione writes, “They are luminous, subtle spiritual energy, the gatekeepers and the guardians of the unconditioned wisdom and sacred earth.” In Tibetan art, they are depicted as naked, except for ornaments, dancing, wild and powerful.

This course includes:

• Introduction to the Mandala Principle
• Introduction to the empowered feminine within Buddhism
• Introduction to the five families, and teachings on the obscurations and wisdoms associated with each
• Creation of a personal altar
• Guided Life Review Practice, for each of the five families, to help you identify your own obscurations and wisdoms in your own life
• The Mandala of Five Wisdom Dakinis daily meditation practice 
• Guided Journey with the Dakini of a chosen family
• Art through Mandala Work with your Hands

There are no prerequisites for this course. It is offered as a self-paced course available at any time, and periodically with additional live classes led by a Tara Mandala Authorized Teacher. This is deep inner work appropriate for individuals of all gender identities.

Practice Accumulations:

• 50 hours of Mandala of the Dakini practice (10 sessions per dakini) plus ½ hour post-practice for each family (Art through Mandala Work with your Hands, Journey with the Dakini, or optionally Feeding Your Demons). Total time = 75 hours. 

Note that Feeding Your Demons® will not be taught within the Mandala Method Program, but participants who have learned it through Kapala training may utilize it as a post-practice option. 

Next Offered:

This course is offered as a self-paced course available anytime. Participants are guided by Lama Tsultrim Allione via video recording through teachings and practices on the Mandala. Level I is also offered 1-2 times per year with additional live sessions with a Tara Mandala Authorized Teacher.

Level II: Journey into the Sacred Masculine

The Mandala of the Five Buddhas is for all students who long to cultivate and integrate the sacred and wise masculine within themselves. Buddhism sees the enlightened masculine as the capacity to act skillfully and with wise compassion. These are capacities that must be nurtured in all of us, regardless of our gender identity. The Jungian understanding of the psyche tells us that we all have both feminine and masculine energies moving within us, which he calls the anima and the animus. The work of healing and moving towards wholeness involves cultivating the wisdom aspects of both the feminine and masculine within us; otherwise, the hidden agenda of our anima or animus shadow can be destructive and self-sabotaging. 

With the Mandala Method, we offer a unique method to work with the anima in the Dakini Mandala, the animus in the Mandala of the Five Buddhas, and the union of the two in the Yab Yum Mandala. This is deep inner work appropriate for individuals of all gender identities.

The Mandala of the Five Buddhas offers a practical method to awaken the enlightened masculine within by empowering us to bring into balance the mutually supportive inner feminine-masculine unity. It is this inner union that allows us to find strength and clarity within so that we may become “in-powered” and effective change agents in the world. The practice of the Mandala of the Five Buddhas brings together sound, visualization, and meditation, and provides an inner map and skillful means to help us transform challenging emotions into their liberated wisdom.

This course includes:

• Teachings on the Five Buddhas
• Buddhas of the Mandala attributes, including mental obscurations (skandhas) and mudras
• Intro and exploration of the ‘Sacred Masculine’
• Deeper identification and exploration of your personal obscurations and wisdoms as discovered through five family work, especially in relation to the masculine
• The Mandala of the Five Buddhas, daily meditation practice
• Guided Journey with the Buddha of a chosen family
• Art through Mandala Work with your Hands
• Unblocking the Encumbered Energy (Sound and Light Practice) for all five families
• Element Meditation for all five families

Certification Participants will participate in an additional course day including:

• Introduction to Mandala Method pillars
• Introduction to Five Family Assessment
• Partner work utilizing the Enhancement Practices (Journeys, Art through Mandala work with your Hands, Element Meditation, and Unblocking the Encumbered Energy)
• Review of partner work feedback form and process

Practice Accumulations: 

• 50 hours Buddha (10-hrs per Buddha), plus ½ hour post-practice for each (Art through Mandala Work with your Hands, Journey with the Buddha, or optional FYD-see above). Total time = 75 hours. 
• Partner Work (for Certification Participants only):
  • 5 partner sessions (guiding and being guided), 1 for each family, with completed feedback forms for each of the following:
    • Guided Journey with a Dakini 
    • Guided Journey with a Buddha 
    • Element Meditation 
    • Unblocking the Encumbered Energy (Sound and Light Practice)
    • Mandala Work with Your Hands

Totaling 25 partner sessions

Note that online support sessions will be offered between courses for Certification participants supporting completion of the partner work, feedback integration, and Q&A.

Next Offered:

Mandala Method Level II: Journey into the Mandala of the Sacred Masculine

Level III: Journey into the Union of  Sacred Feminine and Masculine

Venture into the mandala of divine union, the Yab Yum Mandala. Building upon the five family explorations and practices of the Mandala of the Dakinis and Mandala of the Buddhas (Mandala Method Levels I and II), Level III explores divine union beyond gender identifications, exploring the union of feminine and masculine we each hold within ourselves. The model of Yab Yum union enables a direct experience of non-duality. The exploration of encumbered patterns  as represented by the five families becomes a framework for exploring obscurations that arise in relationships, such as attachment, anger, disconnection, and jealousy, and how these may be transformed into relationship wisdom.

The work of healing and moving towards wholeness involves drawing forth and cultivating the positive aspects of both our feminine and masculine energies; otherwise, the hidden agenda of each can be destructive and self-sabotaging. With the Mandala Method program we offer a sublime method to work with the feminine through the Mandala of the Dakinis, the masculine in the Mandala of the Buddhas, and the union of the two in the Mandala of the Yab Yum. This is deep inner work appropriate for individuals of all gender identities.

We can explore the Yab Yum in outer, inner and secret ways, a traditional way to unpack various layers of any given teaching. At an outer level, the teachings of Yab Yum suggest that we can meet another being – however that “other” appears to us – as a path of practice in which we fully face our partner with no escape, no guarantee, no solid ground. At an inner level, we can understand Yab Yum as a symbol of an internal balance between energies we have come to label ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine.’  At a secret level, the Yab Yum is the union of the ground of being and the emanations of the ground, the fundamental non-duality of emptiness and form, of wisdom and compassion. 

This course includes:

• Teachings on the Yab Yum figures and symbolism – Male and Female Buddhas 
• Integration of Sacred Feminine and Masculine, beyond the binary understanding
• Teachings on Jung’s Anima/Animus
• Working with obscurations in relationships, inner and outer
• Teachings on inner, outer, and secret mandala
• Divine union and non-duality
• The Mandala of the Yab Yum, daily meditation practice
• Guided Journey with the Yab Yum of a chosen family
• Art through Mandala Work with your Hands
• Unblocking the Encumbered Energy (Sound and Light Practice) for all five families
• Element Meditation for all five families

Certification Participants will participate in an additional course day including:

• Guided Enhancement Practice Feedback
• Introduction to guiding Five Family Life Review, including trauma-sensitivity and worksheet option
• Practice Guiding Five Family Life Review Introduction to guiding Mandala Practice(s) 

Practice Accumulations: 

• 50 hours YabYum (10 per YabYum), plus ½ hour post-practice for each (Art through Mandala Work with your Hands, Journey with the Yab Yum, or optional FYD-see above). Total time = 75 hours.
• Certification Track: Partner Session (guiding and being guided), with completed feedback forms for each of the following:
  • Guided Journey with Yab Yum (1 for each family=5)
  • Life Review (1 for each family=5)
  • Mandala of the Dakinis Practice
  • Mandala of the Five Buddhas Practice
  • Mandala of the Yab Yum Practice

Totaling 13 partner sessions

Note that online support sessions will be offered between courses for Certification participants supporting completion of the partner work, feedback integration, and Q&A.

Next Offered:

Mandala Method Level III: Journey into the Union of Sacred Feminine and Masculine (online)

Certification Capstone Retreat

The Certification Capstone retreat is the final level of the Mandala Method Certification Program. This level offers in-depth training on the Mandala Method framework and pillars, the psychological foundations for mandala work, trauma informed facilitation, considerations when working with populations different from one’s own identity, working beyond the gender binary, how to work with challenges arising in facilitation, and how to deepen your own mandala practice.  For successful candidates, the training results in becoming certified to use the Mandala Method one-on-one with others.

Topics include:

• Mandala Method Pillars and Mode of Working
• Mandala as template of psychological wholeness
• Introducing the mandala and the five families to individuals
• Identifying encumbered emotions and wisdoms
• Psychological foundations for mandala work
• Introducing the symbolism of the Dakinis/Buddhas/YabYum
• When to introduce or utilize each mandala (Dakini/Buddha/YabYum)
• Use of Five Family Assessment 
• Use of Five Family Life Reviews
• Continued Guiding Practice and Guiding Feedback on all Practices Included in Certification:
  • Five Family Life Review, for each of the five families (formerly called Regression)
  • Dakini, Buddha or Yab Yum Mandala practice
  • Journeys with the Dakini, Buddha, or Yab Yum
  • Unblocking the Encumbered Energy (Sound and Light Practice, for all five families)
  • Element Meditation (for all five families)
  • Mandala Work with Your Hands 
• Determining order of work and appropriate interventions
• Trauma considerations
• Ethical considerations
• Multicultural considerations
• Review of what Certification Includes
• Presentation of Certification in relationship to Tara Mandala
• Continued Support, Review and Case Presentations

Certified individuals will continue to receive support and engage in online Case Presentations and Supervision following certification. These sessions will be offered monthly, with each individual selecting those they wish to participate in. 

Next offered:

An inaugural Certification option, comprised of a two-part Capstone retreat, is being offered in October 2024/March 2025 only, for those individuals who have already completed Mandala Method Levels I-III or equivalent, and the personal practice requirements.

For those just starting out with the Mandala Method, or who have not yet taken all three levels, note that Level II – Journey into the Sacred Masculine will be offered for the first time this summer with the added Certification training day, as part of the full pathway to Certification. Level III will be offered in Winter 2025, and a Capstone retreat in Fall 2025.

Participants in either Certification cohort must apply and be accepted into MMCP prior to registering. Apply here.