Tibetan Buddhist Mandalas (88, Ancient Art Podcast)

In this short excerpt from Lucas Livingston's lecture on Tibetan Buddhist art, he says "we skim the surface of the spiritual meaning, function, and structure of Tibetan mandalas."
Podcast video link here.....Tibetan Buddhist Mandalas
Tibet Mandala 18th/19th century Opaque watercolor and gold on wood 26.7 x 26.7 x 12.8 cm (10 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 5 in) The James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (150.1996) Gallery label: Mandala, literally meaning "circle," is a diagram of the spiritual universe that is used as a meditational device. The circle encloses a sacred area, into which the devotee enters via meditation. The only figures shown in this abstract mandala are the demons who inhabit the charnel ground within the circle of flames. The central hexagon is a yantra (a meditation device) that symbolizes the combination of masculine and feminine aspects, shown as two overlapping triangles. Their union induces cosmic harmony. A circle connects the points of the hexagon, symbolizing the unification of the souls of everything living and divine.