Each mandala is a matrix of embodiment and unification. It is the architecture of enlightenment in its blissful and compassionately created emanation. At the same time, mandalas are frequently said to be like cosmic plans, maps of the world in an outer sense, a diagram of the perfect universe, and internally, as guides to practitioners in their psycho-physical practice. As such, mandalas are seen as sacred places, which through their worldly presence, remind viewers of the vast sacredness in the universe and its potential in themselves. In this way mandalas support the viewers' progress to enlightenment. In Tibetan Buddhism, each mandala represents a holy space and a pure expression of a certain Buddha’s enlightenment, together with the states of consciousness which are associated with the displayed Buddha, such as compassion, bliss, or wisdom.

The making of a mandala is seen as a sacred procedure and demands years of training. A wide pallet of sacred geometry and symbols is used in the making of mandalas. Philosophy for the sacred geometry is symmetry, balance, and relations among basic geometric forms that picture the cosmology of the universe.