Mandalas

The mandala has its origins in the Dharmic religions like Buddhism, and basically is a symmetrical design that can used in meditation. It represents the cosmos, the human perspective, the universe, the All. I got to see some monks do a sand mandala once, and it was freakin' amazing.

Other cultures use designs similar to the mandala, and the word has become kind of a catch-all phrase for circular designs. There's some pretty neat information here: http://www.mandalaproject.org/

We have an annual event here called the Gift of Light Expo, in April, and each year a group of Buddhist monks spend three days doing a sand mandala. It's amazing, because the thing is about nine feet across. You walk into this room where they've got the chants playing in the background, incense burning, tapestries hung around them, and there's usually an older man, a very young one, and a guy somewhere in the middle. The work is so precise that it's practically grain-by-grain. It's beautiful -- I've never seen anything like it. I could have stood there watching all day.