The Mandala of the Five Buddhas

We may be used to seeing anthropomorphic representations of the Buddhas as young men in robes, with shaven heads, seated in meditation, and displaying a distinctive mudra. Howeve we must not take this too literally. These seed syllables are as accurate a communication of the message of the Five Buddhas as are pictures of Buddhas, perhaps more so since they are less susceptible to reification.

Each Buddha represents qualities of the Awakened mind, and is associated in an almost infinite web of correspondence, to many aspects of experience and the Buddhadharma.