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VAJRASATWA:
Vajrasatwa, the
sixth Dhyani Buddha, is regarded by hte Mepali Bhuddhist as
the priest of the five Dyani Buddha. he is not represented
in the stupa like other Dhyani Buddhas, but independent
shrines are dedicated to his worship. His worship is always
performed in secret and is not open to those who are not
initiated into the mysteries of the Vajrayana. Vajrasattwa
is represented in two forms, single and yabyum. This Dyani
Buddha wears all ornaments, rich dress and a crown. He is of
white colour. He sits cross legged in the meditative pose
like other Dhyani Buddhas. He carries the Vajra in his right
hand with palm upwards against the chest and ghanta (bell)
in the left hand resting upon the left thigh.
CHAKRA
SAMBARA:
Chakra sambara
is the main deity of sambara. He is also regarded as
manifestation of Heyvajra who is the central figure of an
esoteric cult, the Vajrayana Buddhism. Vajrabarahi is his
consort embracing in a mystic position. Their embrace
symbolizes union between wisdom and method which leads
ultimate bliss.
GREEN
TARA:
Green Tara
is another figure representing compassion. She is a 16
years old girl, with a delightful, playful spirit. Showing
that she quickly respond to suffering, her right hand
stretches out to help with kindness and generosity. The
color green in Tibetan Buddhism suggest that she really has
all spiritual accomplishments. One story describes how
Avalokiteshvara, seeing the suffering in the world, shed so
many tears of compassion that a lake formed. From this lake
grew a lotus flower, and when the lotus flower, and when the
louts opened, there was Green Tara.
PADMA
SAMBHAV:
Padma Sambhav
was a renowned and highly learned tantric saint of Northern
India. In the middle of the eight century the Tibetan king
Thi-sron Destan to India inviting the learned guru to come
to Tibet. padma sambhav was renowned for his knowledge of
tantras and their efficacious application. He remained 50
years in Tibet founding monasteries and teaching the tantra
doctrine. He is said to have subdued all the malignant gods
in the a Tibet sparing only those that became converted to
Buddhism and that promised to be defenders (Dharmapala) of
the doctrine. Padmasambhav, in this turn, pronmised to
enroll them in the Mahayana Pantheon. He claimed to have
received from the dakini the books from which he acquired
his miraculous power. At the end of fifty years Padma
sambhav disappeared miraculous. Padmasambhav is represented
seated on a lotus asana with the legs locked, the right hand
holding the vajra and the left, lying in his lap, the patra.
He holds his special symbol, the khatvanga pressed against
his breast with the left arm.
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SAKYAMUNI:
Gautam Buddha is
believed to have had 550 incarnations. Many previous Buddha
and other Buddhas yet to come are known as Buddhas. To
distinguish from all other Buddhas, he has been called
Sakyamuni (the lion of shakya clan), the son of king
Suddhodana and queen Mayadevi. He was born on 563 B.C at
Lumbini, western part of Nepal. He had attained "Bodhi" or
knowledge after 6 years in fasting and meditation and then
he was called "Buddha" as he was "the enlightened one". He
died at the age of 80 at Kusinagar.
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WHITE
TARA:
Tara is the
female deity of the Buddhist Pantheon. White Tara was born
from a tear of the Boddhisatwa of compassion. Avalokiteswara.
She holds a very prominent position in Tibet and Nepal. Tara
is believed to protect the human beings while they are
crossing the ocean of existence. Among the two forms of
Tara, white tara is regarded as consort of Avalokiteswara,
some times of Vairochana. She is portrayed usually seated,
dressed and crowned like a Boddhisatwas. And sometimes she
is regarded as Saptalochana or seven eyes Tara. Extra eyes
on her forehead, palm and feet and lotus flower at one or
both of her shoulder. She is seated in full Vajra Posture.
Her right hand will be in boon confering posture, her left
hand in teaching gesture holding the stem of the lotus. She
is wearing all sorts of precious ornaments and looks
beautiful. The practice of White Tara is basically performed
in to prolong life as well as for healing purpose.
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CHENREZIC:
The
Four-armed Avalokiteshvara is white, sitting in meditation,
with two holding a large gem at his heart(representing the
precious nature of Enlightenment) the far right hand holding
meditation beads(symbolizing that meditation practice is the
way to develop Enlightenment Compassion) and the far left
hand holding a lotus flower.
.
MANJUSHREE:
Manjushri
is a beautiful male youth, a golden orange in colour,
who represents wisdom. He delicately holds a flaming sword
above his head that cuts through the roots of confusion and
spiritual delusion, and his left hand holds a book which
represents cultural and knowledge. (Sometimes the book is
resting on a lotus by his left shoulder and the left hand
holds the stem of the lotus.) Nepalese legends consider
Manjushri the creator of the Kathmandu Valley, the valley
was once a large lake which Manjushri drained by slashing a
gorge with his sword, leaving a very fertile valley. For the
Tibetans, Manjushri is associated with the arts and culture,
as well as spiritual wisdom.
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WHEEL OF LIFE:
The Wheel
of life
symbolizes the limitation of mundane existence. At the
centre of the wheel is a cook, a snake and a pig, that
represent greed, hatred and spiritual ignorance the whole
wheel rotates around these three qualities.The six(sometimes
just five) main segments of the wheel represent different
realms that beings are reborn into, and also different
states of mind that we can find ourselves trapped in at
times. The heavenly realms are at the top, then the "Jealous
Gods", human beings, animals, "Hungry Ghosts", and the
different hellish states at the bottom.The whole wheel is in
the grip of Yama, "the Lord of Death" or "Lord of
Impermanence", who is biting into the wheel and tearing, is
apart. At the top right of the thanka, out of Yama's sight,
is a Buddha figure (or a sun, representing the Buddha). He
points to the top left, where there will be a Bodhisattva
(or a moon), indicating that the practice of a Wisdom and
Compassion of the wheel.There is also a Buddha figure in
each of the Six Realms, there are the Bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara, talking rebirth amongst the beings of each
realm out of compassion. In each realm he offers something
that suggests what the beings in that realm need to do. In
the human realm, for example, Avalokiteshvara appears as a
monk, suggesting that, a human being, we have an opportunity
to practice the way to Enlightenment.
THOUSAND ARMED AVALOKITESHVARA:
The
Thousand- armed Avalokiteshvara is standing on a lotus base,
with his thousand arms fanned out like an aura around him.
Some of the arms hold objects- a bow and arrow, a lotus
flower, meditation beads- but all the hands have an eye in
the palm, suggesting that wisdom and understanding are
necessary parts of genuine compassion. The thousand-armed
Avalokiteshvara has eleven heads, so that ha can perceive
suffering in all directions at once.A Tibetan legend
describes how Avalokiteshvara, in the distant past, took a
vow to relieve all suffering and he declared that, if he
should ever hesitate, his body should instantly spilt into a
thousand pieces. So he worked tirelessly for aeons,
relieving suffering in the world, then when he stopped to
see how much he had really achieved, he saw that he had
really helped just one drop of the great ocean of suffering
and feeling like giving up, his body instantly exploded into
a thousand pieces, then came back together as the thousand-
armed Avalokiteshvara. So with a thousand hands,
Avalokiteshvara was able to carry on his work of great
compassion much more effectively than before.
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