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Namkha
Namkha (Tibetan: ནམ་མཁའ་ ''nam mkha' '' "sky", "space", " aether"," heaven"), also known as ''Dö''; (Tibetan ''mdos'' (མདོས) ) is a form of yarn or thread cross composed traditionally of wool or silk and is a form of the Endless knot of the ''Eight Auspicious Symbols ( Ashtamangala)''. Namkha, space, is the Tibetan name of an extremely ancient structure made of coloured threads wrapped around wooden sticks, variations of which can be found in other traditions of the populations of our planet, which from time immemorial, Tibetans have imbued with a very precise, well defined and meaningful function, as we shall see from the pure symbolic representation. Used in the ancient rituals of Bön — the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet — in reality this object represents the fundamental components and aspects of the energy of the individual, as defined from the conception until the birth of the individual. Knowledge about the use of Namkha were almost completely l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chögyal Namkhai Norbu
Namkhai Norbu (; 8 December 1938 – 27 September 2018) was a Tibetan Buddhist master of Dzogchen and a professor of Tibetan and Mongolian language and literature at Naples Eastern University. He was a leading authority on Tibetan culture, particularly in the fields of history, literature, traditional religions ( Tibetan Buddhism and Bon), and Traditional Tibetan medicine, having written numerous books and scholarly articles on these subjects. When he was two years old, Norbu was recognized as the 'mindstream emanation', a tulku, of the Dzogchen teacher Adzom Drugpa (1842–1924). At five, he was also recognized as a mindstream emanation of an emanation of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (1594–1651). At the age of sixteen, he met master Rigdzin Changchub Dorje (1863–1963), who became his main Dzogchen teacher. In 1960, he went to Italy at the invitation of Giuseppe Tucci and served as Professor of Tibetan and Mongolian Language and Literature from 1964 to 1992 at Naples E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namkhai Norbu
Namkhai Norbu (; 8 December 1938 – 27 September 2018) was a Tibetan Buddhist master of Dzogchen and a professor of Tibetan and Mongolian language and literature at Naples Eastern University. He was a leading authority on Tibetan culture, particularly in the fields of history, literature, traditional religions (Tibetan Buddhism and Bon), and Traditional Tibetan medicine, having written numerous books and scholarly articles on these subjects. When he was two years old, Norbu was recognized as the 'mindstream emanation', a tulku, of the Dzogchen teacher Adzom Drugpa (1842–1924). At five, he was also recognized as a mindstream emanation of an emanation of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (1594–1651). At the age of sixteen, he met master Rigdzin Changchub Dorje (1863–1963), who became his main Dzogchen teacher. In 1960, he went to Italy at the invitation of Giuseppe Tucci and served as Professor of Tibetan and Mongolian Language and Literature from 1964 to 1992 at Naples Easte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bön
''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries, but may retain elements from earlier religious traditions (which also used the term Bon).Kvaerne 1996, pp. 9-10. Bon remains a significant minority religion in Tibet (especially in Eastern Tibet) and in the surrounding Himalayan regions. The relationship between Bon and Tibetan Buddhism has been a subject of debate. According to the modern scholar Geoffrey Samuel, while Bon is "essentially a variant of Tibetan Buddhism" with many resemblances to Nyingma, it also preserves some genuinely ancient pre-Buddhist elements. David Snellgrove likewise sees Bon as a form of Buddhism, albeit a heterodox kind. Similarly, John Powers writes that "historical evidence indicates that Bön only developed as a self-consc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pure Land
A pure land is the celestial realm of a buddha or bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. The term "pure land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism () and related traditions; in Sanskrit the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (Sanskrit ). The various traditions that focus on pure lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bon. Discussion In the Mahayana sutras, there are many pure lands. Bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteśvara and Manjushri would obtain pure lands after they attained buddhahood. In the ''Lotus Sutra'', Buddha's close followers such as Śāriputra, Mahākāśyapa, Subhuti, Maudgalyāyana and Buddha's son Rāhula would also have pure lands. The relative time-flow in the pure lands may be different, with a day in one pure land being equivalent to years in another. Pure lands have been documented as arising due to the intention and aspiration of a bodhisattva such as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According to some early Tibetan sources like the ''Testament of Ba'', he came to Tibet in the 8th century and helped construct Samye Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. However, little is known about the actual historical figure other than his ties to Vajrayana and Indian Buddhism. Padmasambhava later came to be viewed as a central figure in the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet. Starting from around the 12th century, hagiographies concerning Padmasambhava were written. These works expanded the profile and activities of Padmasambhava, now seen as taming all the Tibetan spirits and gods, and concealing various secret texts ('' terma'') for future tertöns. Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124–1192) was the author of the ''Zangling-ma'' (Jew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endless Knot
Endless knot in a Burmese Pali manuscript The endless knot or eternal knot is a symbolic knot and one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols. It is an important symbol in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. It is an important cultural marker in places significantly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism such as Tibet, Mongolia, Tuva, Kalmykia, and Buryatia. It is also found in Celtic and Chinese symbolism. History The endless knot appears on clay tablets from the Indus Valley civilization (2500 BC) and on a historic era inscription. Interpretations Buddhism Various Buddhist interpretations of the symbol are: * The endless knot iconography symbolised Samsara ''i.e.'', the endless cycle of suffering of birth, death and rebirth within Tibetan Buddhism. * The inter-twining of wisdom and compassion. * Interplay and interaction of the opposing forces in the dualistic world of manifestation, leading to their union, and ultimately to harmony in the universe. * The mutual dependence of relig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
God's Eye
A God's eye (in Spanish, ''Ojo de Dios'') is a spiritual and votive object made by weaving a design out of yarn upon a wooden cross. Often several colors are used. They are commonly found in Mexican, Peruvian people and Latin American communities, among both Indigenous and Catholic peoples. ''Ojos de Dios'' are common in the Pueblos of New Mexico. Often they reflect a confidence in all-seeing Providence. Some believers think the spiritual eye of the ''Ojos de Dios'' has the power to see and understand things unknown to the physical eye. During Spanish colonial times in New Mexico from the 16th to the 19th centuries, ''Ojos de Dios'' (God's Eye) were placed where people worked, or where they walked along a trail. In other parts of the Americas, artisans weave complicated or variegated versions of the traditional ''Ojos de Dios'', selling them as decorations or religious objects. There has also been a huge increase in the use of Ojos de Dios as an easy and fun craft for children ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weaving (mythology)
Mention of textiles in folklore is ancient, and its lost mythic lore probably accompanied the early spread of this art. Textiles have also been associated in several cultures with spiders in mythology. Weaving begins with spinning. Until the spinning wheel was invented in the 14th century, all spinning was done with distaff and spindle. In English the "distaff side" indicates relatives through one's mother, and thereby denotes a woman's role in the household economy. In Scandinavia, the stars of Orion's belt are known as ''Friggjar rockr'', "Frigg’s distaff". The spindle, essential to the weaving art, is recognizable as an emblem of security and settled times in a ruler's eighth-century BCE inscription at Karatepe: "In those places which were formerly feared, where a man fears... to go on the road, in my days even women walked with spindles" In the adjacent region of North Syria, historian Robin Lane Fox remarks funerary stelae showing men holding cups as if feasting and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prayer Flag
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 fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantrism
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed Tantras centering on Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti emerged. There are tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism, such as the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, the Shakta sect of Sri-Vidya, the Kaula, and Kashmir Shaivism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantra
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed Tantras centering on Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti emerged. There are tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism, such as the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, the Shakta sect of Sri-Vidya, the Kaula, and Kashmir Shaivism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on Indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phurba
The ''phurba'' (; alternate transliterations: ''phurpa'', ''phurbu'', ''purbha'', or ''phurpu'') or ''kīla'' ( Sanskrit Devanagari: कील; IAST: kīla) is a three-sided peg, stake, knife, or nail-like ritual implement traditionally associated with Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Bön, and Indian Vedic traditions. The phurba is associated with the practice of the meditational deity (Sanskrit ''ishtadevata'', Tibetan ''yidam'') Vajrakīlaya (Tibetan ''Dorje Phurba'') or Vajrakīla (वज्रकील). Etymology Most of what is known of the Indian ''kīla'' lore has come by way of Tibetan culture. Scholars such as F. A. Bischoff, Charles Hartman and Martin Boord have shown that the Tibetan literature widely asserts that the Sanskrit for their term ''phurba'' is ''kīlaya'' (with or without the long ''i''). However, as Boord describes it, Mayer (1996) contests Boord's assertion, pointing out that eminent Sanskritists such as Sakya Pandita employed ''Vajrakīlaya''. Further ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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