Texto publicado por Thuk Je Che Tíbet
The earliest references to the eight auspicious symbols date back to Sanskrit and Pali Indian Buddhist texts, and are also found in ancient Tibetan texts.
These eight objects of good fortune are said to have been offered by the gods to the Buddha: Brahma offered the Wheel of Dharma, Indra the Conch Shell with the right-hand spin, Sthavara (Sa'i Lhamo) offered the Precious Vase containing the nectar of immortality, the king of the Nagas the Parasol, the Infinite Knot was offered by Laksmi, consort of Vishnu, the Banner of Victory was given by Shiva. Each offering represents an aspect or characteristic of Buddha, the Bunch of Good Fortune Sutra (Arya-mangalakutanama-mahayanasutra) exposes the relationship between the Eight Symbols and the Buddha's body:
The head like a protective parasol.
Precious eyes like goldfish.
The neck like a vessel of good fortune.
The neck as a vessel of good fortune.
The voice like a conch shell turning to the right.
The mind of vast wisdom like an infinite knot.
The mouth like an auspicious pink lotus.
The body like the banner proclaiming triumph over Mara's attacking army.
The feet moving on the Dharma path like an auspicious wheel.
The auspicious symbols grant well-being and happiness in the present and in the next lives, therefore they are represented on walls and columns in Tibetan monasteries, on the thrones of the lamas and are drawn with a kind of chalk, (another Tibetan art) on the floor of all monasteries and to receive great lamas and dignitaries.
In many tantric practices they are used to consecrate objects and are visualized as offerings to the Buddhas. In the long life Puja to the Guru, these eight symbols are offered at enthronements and at the beginning of the Tibetan new year.
These Eight Auspicious Symbols are performed together or separately.
The Parasol
(Sanskrit: chattra / Tibetan: gdugs).
“With a head like a protective parasol”.
According to the Bunch of Good Fortune, the parasol is an object of protection. Just as an ordinary parasol protects us from the heat of the sun, this parasol protects us from negative minds and destructive thoughts, for it quenches their fire with the coolness of the Dharma and protects all beings from illness, mishaps, accidents and the influence of evil spirits (depression, discouragement, etc.).
In tantra, the umbrella represents the central channel (the staff) and the top of the umbrella the crown chakra where a flame of wisdom is located.
The parasol was deified in The White Parasol Deity Sitatapatra (Tib: Dugkar).
The traditional way of representing the parasol is a parasol from which hangs brocades in the form of a skirt with linked bangs. The staff is born from a lotus and from the upper part of the parasol comes out a flame.
In the protocols of the Tibetan gompas, parasols are used to escort the great masters.
The parasol of white or yellow silk, round or square, is for the very high spiritual masters.
The peacock feather parasol is reserved for secular rulers.
The Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama wear both parasols.
In the Tibetan stupas you can see that in the conical part (representing the fire element) thirteen red rings in mention to the thirteen stacked parasols and culminating it has a parasol with the brocade falling.
The Golden Fish
(Sanskrit: Suvarnamatsya / Tibetan: gserña).
“With eyes precious as golden fish.”
As the verse says, they represent the eyes of the Buddha. In India, to express the beauty of women's eyes they say “eyes like a fish”.
The beauty of the eyes of a fish is called “minakshi”. Therefore, the Buddha is given this representation, mentioning his beautiful eyes, which look with compassion, full of wisdom, freeing beings from suffering and filling them with happiness.
In Buddhism, they symbolize freedom, as fish swim freely in the water, and fertility, as they reproduce in abundance.
In tantra, they represent the energy channels, in many images a mast is seen in the middle representing the central channel.
Normally, they are looking upwards, although in some representations they look downwards.
Their faces are almost touching, looking at a jewel of wisdom.
The fish depicted are carp, because of their beauty and longevity.
The Precious Vase
(Sanskrit: Kalasa / Tibetan: Gter-chenpo bumpa).
“With a neck like a vessel of good fortune, prim and ornate.”
This Precious Vase represents the Neck of the Buddha. It mentions the Buddha's teachings as a treasury of jewels that never cease to gush forth. It symbolizes the wish that all sentient beings may receive the fullness of the Buddha's teachings.
It also symbolizes abundance, the nectar of immortality and spiritual wealth. It is a sign of spiritual attainment and the attainment of material desires, as well as a tribute to particular deities related to wealth. The Vase (or “bumpa”), which is described as part of the mandala offering, is made of gold and adorned with a multitude of precious jewels. A silk khata from the realm of the gods ties the neck of the Vase and its mouth is sealed by the wish-granting tree whose roots drink from the waters of longevity, which are contained within the Vase, miraculously turning them into treasures of all kinds.
Precious Vases are used for some tantric rituals; in such rituals they are usually filled with precious and sacred substances, being sealed and placed in altars, homes, lakes or fountains, where their presence attracts abundance and harmony to the environment.
The Conch
(Sanskrit: Sankha / Tibetan:Dung-Dkar).
“With a voice like a conch shell turning to the right.”
In this verse, one can read how the conch shell represents the quality of the Buddha's voice.
Just as the sound of the conch shell can be heard far and wide, so too the Buddha's teachings reach far and wide.
In India, at the time of the Buddha, the conch sounded to alert the population of an attack. In this case, the conch shell sounds so that the Dharma will keep the beings away from the suffering caused by hatred, attachment and ignorance.
The voice like that of a conch shell, deep and resonant, reaching the 10 directions, is one of the 32 major signs of the Buddha's body. The conch represents the Buddha's neck, it has the three curves of the Buddha's throat.
The spiral of the conch is clockwise, a rarity that makes them special. And they evoke the curls of the hair of Sakyamuni Buddha's head.
The direction of the conch shell also represents the direction in which celestial stars such as the sun, moon, stars and other planets cross the sky.
The conch shell is often used in tantric ceremonies and also to call monks to practice.
The Infinite Knot
(Sanskrit: śrīvatsa / Tibetan: dpal be'u).
“With a mind of vast wisdom like an infinite knot.”
The infinite knot represents the mind of the Buddha, for his knowledge is limitless and permanent like the knot that has no beginning, no end. It symbolizes the union of the wisdom and compassion of a Buddha.
It signifies the duality of the illusory world, therefore the knot is represented with symmetrical and regular form, and the interdependence between all beings of the three times.
The intertwining of the knot represents that all phenomena are united in a closed cycle of cause and effect. Thus, this whole composition is a pattern that closes on itself, without gaps, leading to a form of representation of great simplicity and harmony completely balanced.
Since the infinity knot represents the fact that all phenomena are interrelated, in Tibet the infinity knot is often given as a gift, in the form of representations on tangkas, earrings, pendants or a greeting card, which is intended to establish a favorable connection between the giver and the recipient.
At the same time, the recipient is encouraged to accumulate positive karma, and is reminded that future positive effects are rooted in present actions.
Because the infinite knot reminds us that our actions are knotted with our karmic destiny, it makes this auspicious symbol a favorite of Tibetans and is most often reproduced in their art, whether on windows, door frames, monks' bags, tangkas' laceries, etc.
The Lotus
(Sanskrit: Padma, kamala / Tibetan: Padma chukyes).
“With a mouth like an auspicious pink lotus.”
The lotus represents the Buddha's lips, as the lotus of Astamangala is pink petaled like the fleshy lips of the Buddha (Tara also has similar lips).
The lotus represents enlightenment and all those who have attained it, freeing themselves from ignorance, as a lotus emerges clean and pure through the mud at the bottom of the lake.
The lotus symbolizes purity, especially purity of mind.
Just as a lotus emerges from the mud and remains floating spotless on the surface of the waters of the lake, but still has its roots in the earth.
Also the buddhas, despite having attained enlightenment, do not simply escape from the samsaric world, but continue to work for the benefit of all beings, leading them to the path of awakening.
The lotus reminds us that the compassion and wisdom of the buddhas arise from the same ordinary world in which disputes, hatred, mistrust, anxiety and other negative emotions dwell.
That same world is the place of emergence of the buddhas, perfect creatures who have awakened from the sleep of ignorance and who perceive reality as it is, with absolute clarity and deep compassion for the suffering of all sentient beings.
In the vajrayana and its visualizations the buddhas are seated on lotuses.
And their color varies depending on the deity. For example: The white lotus (Punderika or pema karpo) is usually attributed to White Tara and Vairochana among many others.
The red lotus (kamala or pema marpo) is the lotus of Chenrezig and Amitaba, as well as other Buddhas.
The blue lotus (utpala or pema ngongpo) is the lotus of Manyushri, Je TsongKhapa and Akshobya.
The pink lotus is the lotus of Buddha and is always related to higher deities.
In Ngalso Self-Healing practice the lotuses represent the channels in the chakras and in each one sits a Dyani Buddha.
The Banner of Victory or Flag of Victory
(Sanskrit: dhvaja / Tibetan: Gyalchen).
“With a body like the banner proclaiming triumph over the attacking army of Mara.”
As this verse says, the banner of victory represents the body of Shakyamuni Buddha and the triumph of the wisdom of Buddha's teachings over ignorance.
It also symbolizes Buddha's triumph over the four Maras (temptations), which personify the four obstacles on the path to spiritual realization.
Each represents an individual barrier to progress on the spiritual path.
These are:
The Mara of emotional pollution (polluted aggregates).
The Mara of passion (emotional disturbances).
The Mara of fear of death (uncontrolled fear of death).
The Mara of pride and lust. For having defeated these four maras or opposing forces to spiritual development, he is called the Victorious One or the Conqueror.
It is said that this banner was placed at the top of Mount Meru by the Buddha himself after attaining Enlightenment to proclaim his triumph over the entire Universe, and that thereafter Mount Meru became the central axis of the Earth.
In the Tibetan tradition, there are eleven different forms of the banner of victory, representing the eleven specific methods of overcoming mental obstacles.
The Wheel of Dharma
(Sanskrit: Dharmachakra / Tibetan: Khor lo).
“With feet moving on the path of Dharma like an auspicious wheel.”
As this last verse of the “Bunch of Good Fortune” quotes, the Dharma Wheel represents the Buddha's feet. It also represents the Dharma, Buddha's collection of teachings.
Turning the Wheel of Dharma (dharma chakra pravartana), means that the Buddha gave one of his main teachings.
The Buddha first turned the Wheel of Dharma by giving the teaching of the Four Noble Truths in the Deer Park of Sarnath.
The Wheel of Dharma has eight spokes to remind us, as the Four Noble Truths teach us, that the extinction of our suffering is found in the Noble Eightfold Path.
Correct vision
Correct thinking
Right speech
Right action
Right livelihood
Right effort
Correct attention
Correct concentration
The ring that joins the spokes symbolizes the union of the consciousness of these eight virtuous actions.
Its points show us that they alone can cut off ignorance.
Its circular shape represents perfection.
The center symbolizes the discipline that stabilizes the mind, which is essential to follow the Eightfold Noble Path.
The Wheel is the most popular auspicious symbol and the earliest known Buddhist representation. It dates from the Age of Ashoka, the great Indian Buddhist emperor, who built 84,000 stupas and countless pillars at sacred Buddhist sites, which were crowned with a wheel and one or two lions.
Because the era of Ashoka's reign was the most peaceful and prosperous Buddhist stage of Inda, the Indian flag has a wheel in the center in his honor.
The Wheel is one of the 32 marks of a Buddha. And it can also be found in tangkas, frescoes on the walls and on the highest ceiling of the gompas flanked by two deer observing it.
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