Painting from the series on the Sarvavid Vairocana Mandala, consisting of 54 miniatures that depict a meditation process

This miniature is one from a series of 54. Together, they serve as a guideline for meditating on a mandala, a representation of the cosmos with the divine Buddha Vairocana at the centre.
The paintings show what the meditating person builds in his mind. He first concentrates on the life of Buddha, clears his mind of interfering thoughts, and enters a peaceful state. After this, step by step, he visualizes various aspects of the divine, and in doing so attains a higher level of consciousness where he finally becomes one with Vairocana.
Depictions of the meditative process are almost non-existent, which makes this series quite unique. It was brought back from East Mongolia in 1923 by a Flemish Scheut Father, Rafaël Verbois.