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In Asian culture there is not such a wide gap between
spiritual and material things as there seems to exist in the
western civilization of today. Therefore religious symbols
are a living part of all aspects of Asian culture.
We will describe the different symbols both in their outer
and inner or esoteric meaning, according to the different
teachings of Lord Budddha. However, according to the
bnuddhisst teachings the very physical existence of any
phenomena is dependent on the inner meaning, which is due to
the mental creation or Karmic activity of the sentient
beings. That means that the face that the symbols do exist
is due to the mental or Karmic creation of those beings and
cannot exist without it. Just as a plant needs a seed in
order to come into existence, in the same way the plant as a
symbol exists only because there is a Karmic seed which
causes it. In fact, the very existence of the material or
physical plant is also dependent on the existence of a
karmic seed in the consciousness of the beings in whose
world that plant grows Therefore what we call symbols are
not artificial, cultural creations invented by somebody, but
they correspond to a real karmic activity which manifests in
the external level as a material object-a plant or animal in
this case-and in the internal, mental level corresponds to a
mental experience. The actual reality of these symbols has
been experienced directly in meditation by those highly
realized beings like Sakyamuni Buddha and others. They
somehow discovered the real nature of the symbols through
their pure vision and understanding Even ordinary beings can
perceive to some extent the real nature of symbols, but in
order to get a clearer understanding some intellectual
explanations are needed.
Generally the buddhist as well as other religious symbols,
are considered as a cultural item, without understanding at
all their real significance. They are used or venerated only
because it is the tradition of one's own country to do so,
or because it is believed that these symbols or objects
bring good luck and prosperity. In fact these symbols not
only can bring good luck, long life and prosperity but can
also bring the highest realization of the real nature of all
existences. They can help sentient beings to develop their
own inner wisdom and attain the level of a Buddha, no matter
what other name they want to give to it. And that is why
symbols do exist as manifestations of this wisdom inherent
in all sentient beings 'mind. In its present essay only five
animals have been described briefly.
THE LION
Lions are the kings of the animal kingdom: they are proud
and majestic. They live in the plains and grassy hills,
never in the mountains and sur4ely not in the high snow
mountains. Lions are organised into clans or groups and
never live alone except in the case of old lions or those
who are expelled from the community. They get their food by
hunting which is always done by the females and never by the
males. The male's job is to protect the clan from enemies.
However, lions do not have any natural enemy. Due to these
caracteristics the lion has been considered through all ages
and countries as a symbol of royaity and protection, as well
as of wisdom and pride. The iconographic representation of
the lion originated in Persia.
In buddhism lions are symbolic of the bodhisattvas, the
"sons of the Buddha" or "Buddha's lions". bodhisattvas are
beings who have attained a high level of spiritual
development. They have generated bodhicitta and made the vow
to renounce the happiness of the highest enlightenment and
remain in this world working until all sentient beings are
free from suffering. bodhisattvas practise the six basic
paramitas: charity. Morality, patience. effort,
concentration and wisdom [dana, sila, ksanti, verya, dhyana
and prajna] and the four which derive from the basis ones:
skillfull means, vows, power and knowledge [upaya,
pranidhana, bala and jnana]. Tehre are eight great or divine
bodhisattvas. In the Nispannygavaqli of Mahapandita
Abhayakara Gupta three sets of sixteen bodhisattvas are
mentioned.
In buddhist iconography we find the lions in their role of
dharma protectors supporting the throne of the buddhas and
bodhisattvas. They are also found at the entrance of the
monasteries and shrines. In the northern areas of Nepal,
influenced by Tibetan buddhism and art, the lions have
become "snow lions". Actually there are no lions living in
the snow mountains, but there are leopards. Snow lions area
depicted in white or blue colour with turquoise or orange
mane floating in the wind and very wrathful, with big eyes
and open mouth. They roam freely in the high snow mountains
without any fear, symbolising the wisdom, fearlessness and
divine pride of those dharma practitioners who are actually
able to live freely in the high snow mountain of the pure
mind, without being contaminated by delusions. They are
kings of the doctrine because they have achieved the power
to subdue all beings with their great love, compassion and
wisdom.
The lions as guardians of the temple are represented in
pairs at the entrance of shrines and baha compounds.
ELEPHANTS
The main characteristics of the elephant are his strength
and steadfastness. There for it become a symbol of physical
and mental strength, as well as responsibility and
earthiness.
In Indian mythology we hear about the flying elephants and
Airavata, the white elephant who become the vehicle of Indra
and appeared from the churning of the milky ocean. Therefore
white elephants are considered very special and with the
power to produce rain. They are identified as rain-bearing
clouds, which will explain the belief in the flying
elephants. In Indian society elephants were considered to
bring good luck and prosperity. They were owned by the kings
and used in wars.
In buddhism the elephant is a symbol of mental strenght. At
the beginning of one's practice the uncontrolled mind is
symbolised by a gray elephant who can run wild any moment
and destroy everything on his way. After practising dharma
and taming one's mind, the mind which is now brought under
control is symbolised by a white elephant strong and
powerful, who can be directed wherever one wishes and
destroy all the obstacles on his way.
Buddha Shakyamuni was born as elephant in some of his
previous incarnations. Also in his last incarnation as
Siddharth Gautama he songs: descended from the Tushita pure
land and entered his mother's womb in the form of a white
elephant.
In buddhist iconography we find the elephant-faced deity
Gangpati or Ganesh as an emanation of the bodhisattva
Avalokitesvara. Also in another aspect, representing the
worldly aspect of the same evergy he is trampled upon by
same other deities such as Mahakala, Vajra Bhairava and
others.
In the mandala offering ritual one offers to the Buddha the
Precious Elephant, with the strength of one thousand
elephants and who can circumdbulate the whole universe three
times in one day. Also the elephant tusks are one of the
Seven Royal Emblems.
The elephant is the vehicle of the Tathagata Aksobhya and
the deity Balabadra. The elephant also appears as a guardian
of the temples and of Buddha himself.
THE HORSE
Horses have always been the means of transport. They can run
very fast and it is that in previous times they had wings
and could fly. Even in Greek mythology we have Pegasus, the
flying horse. Their main Characteristies is their loyalty,
industriousness and swiftness. A good example of these
qualities is Kantaka, the horse of Siddhartha Gautama. When
the future Buddha lift his palace in order to become an
ascetic, his horse realised that he will never see his
mas6ter again and died of a broken greart. He was reborn in
one of the heavens.
In buddhism the horse is symbolic of energy and effort in
the practice of dharma. It also symbolises the air or prana
which runs through the channels of the body and is the
vehicle of the mind.
In that sense we can quote a passage from one of Milarepa's
"Song of the galloping horse of a yogi."
"In the mountain hermitage which is my body,
In temple of my breast
At the summit of the triangle of my heart,
The horse which is my mind flies like the wind"
"He gallops on the plains of great bliss.
If he persists, he will attain the rank of a victorious
Buddha.
Going backward, he cuts the root of samsara.
Going forward he reaches the high land of buddhahood.
Astride such a horse, one attains the highest illumination"
[translated by Losang P. Lhalungpa]
The so called "Wind-Horse" symbolic of the mind the mind its
vehicle the wind, can be ridden upon. That means that we
have the possibility of controlling the mind and wind and
guide it towards any direction and at any speed that we
wish.
The neigh of a horse is also symbolic of the power of the
Buddha to awaken the sleepy mind for the practice of dharma.
There are some stories of the bodhisattva Lokesvara taking
the shape of a horse in order to help sentient beings.
In buddhist iconography the horse support the throne of the
Tathagatha Ratnasambhava and carries the chariot of Surya,
the sun god. The horse is also the vehicle of many other
deities and dharma protectors, such as Mahali, and there are
horse-faced deities, such as Hayagriva.
THE PEACOCK
In a general sense peacocks are a symbol of openness and
acceptance. In Christianity the peacock is a symbol of
immortality. In Mesopotamia appeared a symbolic
representation of a tree flanked by two peacocks, which is
said to symbolise the dualistic mind and the absolute unity.
In Hinduism the patterns of the peacocks feathers,
ressembing eyes, symbolise and stars. In buddhism they
symbolise wisdom.
Peacocks are said to have the ability of eating poisonous
plants without being affected by them. Because of that, they
are synonimous with the great bodhisattvas. A bodhisattva is
able to take delusions as the path toward liberation and
transform the poisonous mind of ignorance, desire and hatred
[moha, raga, dvesa] into the thought of enlightenment or
bodhicitta, which opens colourfully like the peacocks' tail.
Here we will quote from a teaching called "The wheel of
Sharp Weapons", written by Dharmaraksita, who passed it to
his main disciple Dipankara Sri Jnana [Atisa, 982-1054].
"In jungles of poisonous plants strut the peacocks,
Through medicine gardens of beauty lie near.
The masses of peacocks do not find gardens pleasant,
But thrive on the essence of poisonous plants,
In similar fashion the brave bodhisattvas
Remain in the jungle of worlds concern.
No matter how joyful this world pleasure garden,
These brave ones are never attracted to pleasures,
But thrive in the jungle of suffering and pain."
The mind of the sentient beings in this world is like a
thick forest of desire and hatred. The pleasures and
material possessions are like a beautiful medicinal garden.
The brave-minded bodhisattvas, because of having realised
the shortcomings of samsara, are not atracted to samsaric
pleasures, just as the peacocks are not attracted to
medicinal plants. The bodhisattvas, having the attitude of
wishing only to work for sentient beings and not desiring
any happiness for themselves, can utilise the poisonous
thoughts of ignorance, desire, hatred and so forth in order
to accomplish the works for sentient beings.
Bu eating poison, the peacocks' body becomes healthy and
beautiful. He is adorned with five feathers on the head,
which symbolise the five paths of the boddhisattva and the
attainment of the five Buddha families. They have beautiful
colours, like blue, red, green and please other beings just
by being seen. Similarly, any body who sees a bodhisattva
receives great happiness in his mind. The peacock's eating
habits of eating poisonous plants do not cause harm to other
beings. Similarly the bodhisattvas don not give the
slightest harm to any other sentient beings. By eating
poison the colours of his feathers become bright and his
body healthy. Similarly, by taking all problems and
suffering upon themselves, the bodhisattvas quickly purify
the mental obscurations and develop their mind quickly,
attaining higher and higher realization. Particularly
peacocks symbolise the transmutting of desire into the path
of liberation. Therefor they are the vehicle of Buddha
amitabha, who represents desire and attachment transmuted
into the Wisdom of Discriminating Awareness.
GARUDA
Garuda is the king of bgirds. Its name derives from the root
Gri, to swallow: garuda devours the snakes. He is
represented with a human upper body, big eyes, beak, short
blue horns, yellow hair standing on end, bird's claws and
wings. However, sometimes, mainly in Hindu iconography, he
is represented in human form with wings.
Garuda is a very big bird and comes out of the egg fully
grown. Garuda symbolises the space element and the power of
the sun, which can dry up the waters. Therefore he is the
natural enemy of snakes and he devours or controls them. He
represents the spiritual energy of which devours the
delusions of jealousy. And hatred, which are represented by
the snake. Garuda is also the openness: he can stretch out
his wings and soar into space. He represents the great
fresom of the mind which can open and is not uptied by
confliction emotions the wise mind which reaches every
where, like the rays of the sun, and brings about the growth
of life and wisdom. Specifically in buddhism Garuda is
related of the perfection of gibing [dana paramita], just as
the rays of the sun give life to the earth.
The myth of the great bird devouring the snake seems to have
originated in Mesopotamia. The snake represents the
subconscious or hidden aspects of the mind, those feelings
and thoughts which crawl underneath the surface. Garuda can
perceive any tiny snake and instantly fall upon in.
Similarly, by practising awareness of all our feelings,
thoughts and actions we can develop the wisdom which can
perceive perfectly the workings of our mind and in that way
we can achieve complete freedom to act utilising out mind in
the most beneficial way.
In Hindu Iconography Garuda is the vehicle of Vishnu. In
Buddhism, he is the vehicle of amoghasiddhi, the Buddha who
embodies the all accomplishing wisdom. He is also the
vehicle of a from of Lokishvara Hariharihar vahana. garuda
is also a deity of his own who is supposed to cure
snakebite, epilepsy and diseases caused by nagas. An image
of Garuda is found in the toranas, the semicircular tympanum
above the temple doors.
The emerald, also called Garuda stone is considered a
protection against poison and Garuda images appear in
Jewellery as a protection against snake bite
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