The Mandala

The Three-Fold Path mandala comprises a red lotus blossom superimposed on the blade of a samurai sword inside a circle. Together, these elements represent the three pathways to mastery: The Lotus (soft skills), The Sword (professional skills - also called hard skills), and The Circle (continuous improvement).

The word mandala traditionally describes an intricate painting representing a complex spiritual concept, or a map of an exalted inner world. Buddhist monks will gaze at a mandala for hours until they are able to reproduce every pixel of the image in their minds during meditation. Meditating upon the inner painting, they can begin to deepen their understanding of the concept it depicts, or they may even visit within their minds the world it represents, internalizing the light and power it manifests.

The Three-Fold Path mandala is a graphical representation of an ideal world that equally balances ethics and etiquette, professional skills and personal growth. Mastery is the art of achieving perfection in work, as a template for polishing one's spirit.