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Tibetan Prayer Flags
A Tibetan prayer flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Prayer flags are believed to have originated within the religious tradition of Bon. Barker, page 14 In Bon, shamanistic ''Bonpo'' used primary-colored plain flags in Tibet. Traditional prayer flags include woodblock-printed text and images. History Nepal Sutras, originally written on cloth banners, were transmitted to other regions of the world as prayer flags.Barker, p. 13 Legend ascribes the origin of the prayer flag to the Gautama Buddha, whose prayers were written on battle flags used by the ''devas'' against their adversaries, the ''asuras''.Beer, p. 60 The legend may have given the Indian '' Bhikṣu'' a reason for carrying the heavenly banner as a way of signifying his commitment to ''ahimsa''.Wise, pp. 11–12 This knowledge was carried into Tibet by 800 CE, and the actual f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prayer Flag Above Tanze Gompa
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ancestor. More generally, prayer can also have the purpose of thanksgiving or praise, and in comparative religion is closely associated with more abstract forms of meditation and with charms or spells. Prayer can take a variety of forms: it can be part of a set liturgy or ritual, and it can be performed alone or in groups. Prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creedal statement, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. The act of prayer is attested in written sources as early as 5000 years ago. Today, most major religions involve prayer in one way or another; some ritualize the act, requiring a strict sequence of actions or placing a restriction on who is permitted to pray, while others teach that prayer may be p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triratna
The Triratna ( pi, or ; sa, or ) is a Buddhist symbol, thought to visually represent the Three Jewels of Buddhism (the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha). Symbol The Triratna symbol is composed of: * A lotus flower within a circle. * A diamond rod, or vajra. * An ananda-chakra. * A trident, or trisula, with three branches, representing the threefold jewels of Buddhism: Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. On representations of the footprint of the Buddha, the Triratna is usually also surmounted by the Dhamma wheel. The Triratna can be found on frieze sculptures at Sanchi as the symbol crowning a flag standard (2nd century BCE), as a symbol of the Buddha installed on the Buddha's throne (2nd century BCE), as the crowning decorative symbol on the later gates at the stupa in Sanchi (2nd century CE), or, very often on the Buddha footprint (starting from the 1st century CE). The triratna can be further reinforced by being surmounted with three dharma wheels (one for each of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cintamani (jewel)
Cintāmaṇi (Sanskrit; Devanagari: चिंतामणि; Chinese: 如意寶珠; Pinyin: ''Rúyì bǎozhū''; Japanese Romaji: ''Nyoihōju; Tamil:சிந்தாமணி''), also spelled as Chintamani (or the ''Chintamani Stone''), is a wish -fulfilling jewel within both Hindu and Buddhist traditions, said by some to be the equivalent of the philosopher's stone in Western alchemy. It is one of several Mani Jewel images found in Buddhist scripture. Within Hinduism, it is connected with the gods Vishnu and Ganesha. In Hindu tradition, it is often depicted as a fabulous jewel in the possession of Vishnu as the Kaustubha Mani or as on the forehead of the Naga king called as Naga Mani, or on the forehead of the Makara. The '' Yoga Vasistha'', originally written in the 10th century CE, contains a story about the cintamani. The Hindu Vishnu Purana speaks of the " Syamanta jewel, bestowing prosperity upon its owner, encapsulates the Yadu clan system". The Vishnu Purana is attribu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wind Horse
The wind horse is a symbol of the human soul in the shamanistic tradition of East Asia and Central Asia. In Tibetan Buddhism, it was included as the pivotal element in the center of the four animals symbolizing the cardinal directions and a symbol of the idea of well-being or good fortune. It has also given the name to a type of prayer flag that has the five animals printed on it. Depending on the language, the symbol has slightly different names. * , pronounced ''lungta'', Tibetan for "wind horse" * mn, хийморь, Khiimori, literally "gas horse," semantically "wind horse," colloquial meaning ''soul''. In Tibetan usage In Tibet, a distinction was made between Buddhism (, literally "divine dharma") and folk religion (, "human dharma"). Windhorse was predominantly a feature of the folk culture, a "mundane notion of the layman rather than a Buddhist religious ideal," as Tibetan scholar Samten G. Karmay explains.Karmay, Samten G. ''The Arrow and the Spindle: Studies in His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Tibetan Medicine
Traditional Tibetan medicine (), also known as Sowa-Rigpa medicine, is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior and dietary modification, medicines composed of natural materials (e.g., herbs and minerals) and physical therapies (e.g. Tibetan acupuncture, moxabustion, etc.) to treat illness. The Tibetan medical system is based upon Indian Buddhist literature (for example Abhidharma and Vajrayana tantras) and Ayurveda. It continues to be practiced in Tibet, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh, Siberia, China and Mongolia, as well as more recently in parts of Europe and North America. It embraces the traditional Buddhist belief that all illness ultimately results from the three poisons: delusion, greed and aversion. Tibetan medicine follows the Buddha's Four Noble Truths which apply medical diagnostic logic to suffering. History As Indian culture flooded Ti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Five Pure Lights
The Five Pure Lights () is an essential teaching in the Dzogchen tradition of Bon and Tibetan Buddhism. For the deluded, matter seems to appear. This is due to non-recognition of the five lights. Matter includes the ''mahābhūta'' or classical elements, namely: space, air, water, fire, earth. Knowledge (rigpa) is the absence of delusion regarding the display of the five lights. This level of realization is called rainbow body. Basis (gzhi) In the basis () there were neutral awarenesses (sh shes pa lung ma bstan) that did not recognize themselves. (Dzogchen texts actually do not distinguish whether this neutral awareness is one or multiple.) This non-recognition was the innate ignorance. Due to traces of action and affliction from a previous universe, the basis became stirred and the Five Pure Lights shone out. When a neutral awareness recognized the lights as its own display, then that was Samantabhadra (immediate liberation without the performance of virtue). Other neutral aware ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahābhūta
''Mahābhūta'' is Sanskrit and Pāli for "great element". However, very few scholars define the four mahābhūtas in a broader sense as the four fundamental aspects of physical reality. Hinduism In Hinduism's sacred literature, the "great" or "gross" elements (''mahābhūta'') are fivefold: space (or "ether"), air, fire, water and earth. See also the Samkhya Karika of Ishvara Krishna, verse 22. For instance, the Taittiriya Upanishad, describes the five "sheaths" of a person (Sanskrit: ''purusha, purua''), starting with the grossest level of the five evolving great elements: :From this very self (''Atman (Hinduism), tman'') did space come into being; from space, air; from air, fire; from fire, the waters, from the waters, the earth; from the earth, plants; from plants, food; and from food, man.... Different from and lying within this man formed from the essence of food is the self (''tman'') consisting of lifebreath.... Different from and lying within this self consisting o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain Without Praying Flag's Like Fish Without Water
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher than a hill, typically rising at least 300 metres (1,000 feet) above the surrounding land. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in mountain ranges. Mountains are formed through tectonic forces, erosion, or volcanism, which act on time scales of up to tens of millions of years. Once mountain building ceases, mountains are slowly leveled through the action of weathering, through slumping and other forms of mass wasting, as well as through erosion by rivers and glaciers. High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level at similar latitude. These colder climates strongly affect the ecosystems of mountains: different elevations have different plants and animals. Because of the less hospitable terrain and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dhvaja
Dhvaja (Sanskrit also ध्वज; ) , meaning banner or flag, is composed of the Ashtamangala, the "eight auspicious symbols". In Hinduism Dhvaja in Hinduism or vedic tradition takes on the appearance of a high column (dhvaja-stambha) erected in front of temples. Dhvaja, meaning a flag banner, was a military standard of ancient Indian warfare. Notable flags, belonging to the Gods, are as follows: *Garuda Dhwaja – The flag of Vishnu. *Indra Dhwaja – The flag of Indra. Also a festival of Indra. *Kakkai kodi – The flag of Jyestha (goddess), Jyestha, goddess of inauspicious things and misfortune. *Kapi Dhwaja or ''Vanara dwaja (Vanara = Vana + Nara, Flag of the Man of the forest)'' – The flag of Arjuna in the Mahabharata, in which the Lord Hanuman himself resided.Sri Ramakrishna Math (1985) "Hanuman Chalisa" p. 9 *Makaradhvaja – The flag of Kama, god of love. *Seval Kodi – The war flag of Lord Murugan, god of war. It depicts the rooster, ''Krichi''. Tibetan architec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
