Decoding Tibet's Cultural Symbols

Thangka

Thangka is a Tibetan phonetic translation, representing scroll paintings drawn or appliquéd on materials such as cotton cloth and paper. It is a unique form of painting art in Tibetan culture. For Tibetan Buddhists, Thangka is not only a ritual object but also a mobile temple and a Buddha that can be approached at any time. The content usually includes Buddhas, deities, bodhisattvas, and Dharma protectors. The pigments used in Thangka are often precious minerals and gems, such as gold, silver, agate, turquoise, coral, and cinnabar, adding to its significance.

Thangka can be classified in various ways:

By content: Buddha Thangka, biographical Thangka, historical Thangka, mythological Thangka, doctrinal Thangka, astronomical Thangka, calendrical Thangka, Tibetan medical Thangka, etc.

By size: large Thangka, medium Thangka, small Thangka.

By material:

• Embroidered Thangka: Made with colored silk threads, this type of Thangka is durable and resistant to damage.
• Kesi Thangka: Created using the "through warp and broken weft" technique, where various colored weft threads are interwoven at the required pattern areas, creating a three-dimensional effect.
• Brocade thangka. The material is mostly satin, with weft threads composed of various colored silk threads. They are woven in an interlocking pattern, creating the desired patterns, images, and scenes.
• Embroidered appliqué, also known as appliqué thangka. First, various colored satins are cut into shapes (figures, birds and beasts, trees, pavilions, flowers and grass, etc.) and then pasted onto the thangka base fabric.
• Painted Thangka: Most are painted on paper, cloth, cowhide, or sheepskin, and then made into Thangka. The basic painting technique is similar to that of murals. Later developments include printed Thangka.
• Pearl Thangka: A special type of Thangka, extremely rare. The Tara Pearl Thangka in Shannan Changzhu Temple, made of tens of thousands of pearls and art stones, is known for its elegant and expensive design.By background:

Hand-painted thangkas are further categorized into: Polychrome Thangka (with a white base, painted in various colors), Gold Thangka (with a golden background), Silver Thangka (with a silver background), Red Thangka (with a red background), and Black Thangka (with a black background).

Functions of Thangka：

• Worship Function: Thangka is an important medium for religious worship among Tibetans, providing a portable and flexible way to venerate and praise the Buddha.
• Purification Function: The process of painting and offering Thangka is a process of devotion to the Dharma, accumulating good karma and purifying the soul.
• Cultural Dissemination Function: Thangka is an important method and artistic form for the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism. 

Gilded Bronze Buddha Statues

Tibetan gilded bronze Buddha statues are renowned for their exquisite design with strict proportions, harmonious lines, and detailed craftsmanship. They feature broad, high-browed faces and rich clothing patterns. Made mainly from bronze, brass, and red copper alloys, some are gilded for a shiny golden finish. Often adorned with gemstones like turquoise, coral, and pearls, these statues enhance elegance and mystery. They have a unique style blending Tibetan Buddhism's solemnity with Han culture's delicacy. As important ritual objects for Tibetan Buddhists, they hold high religious status. They also serve as historical evidence of Han-Tibetan cultural exchange and integration, and their craftsmanship is a valuable part of Tibetan traditional arts, offering great insights into Tibetan art history.

Cultural Symbols

• Dharma Wheel and Deer

Tibetan Buddhist temples often feature a Dharma wheel with deer on the roof, symbolizing the continuous cycle of the Dharma and the potential for enlightenment in all beings. It also commemorates the Buddha's first teaching at the Deer Park.

• Wisdom Eyes

Also known as spiritual eyes, derived from the great wisdom eye of the Hindu god Shiva, capable of seeing everything in the world. The most famous "Wisdom Eyes" are in Baiju Temple, where the temple's tower (also known as the "Tower of Ten Thousand Buddhas" or "White Tower") has a pair of eyes over 3 meters wide on the four door lintels, very famous. 

• Eight Auspicious Symbols

Also known as the Eight Treasures or Eight Auspicious Signs, they are a set of eight auspicious symbols in Tibetan Buddhism, including the treasure vase, umbrella, golden fish, lotus, conch, endless knot, victory banner, and Dharma wheel. These symbols are commonly used as decorative patterns in monasteries, ritual objects, instruments, stupas, and Tibetan and Mongolian residences, clothing, and artworks, symbolizing good fortune, happiness, and completeness.

• White Stupa (Lama Tower)

White stupas hold significant religious symbolism in Tibetan Buddhism, representing the power of the Dharma. White is considered a color of purity and sanctity, thus symbolizing purification.

• Prayer Flags

Prayer flags are colorful flags printed with scriptures, strung together, and hung in places with strong winds (mountaintops, mountain passes, bridges), allowing the wind to blow the flags, equivalent to reading the scriptures printed on them.

• Ten Symbols of Enlightenment 

Created by Guru Rinpoche, featuring the sun and moon wisdom tips, symbolizing the essence of the three realms. Believers are protected from wars, diseases, famines, and natural disasters. 

• Tibetan Agate ( Dzi Beads)

Tibetan agate is a unique type of bead in Tibetan culture, highly revered in the countries and regions surrounding the Himalayas. Its origin predates Tibetan religion, representing the early Tibetans' worship of natural mystical forces. Some Tibetans still believe that dzi beads are "heavenly objects" with unknown powers. Dzi beads are found in regions around the Himalayas, including Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Kashmir, closely associated with the mysterious Himalayas.

• Wesak (Wesa)

A blessing ceremony. In Tibetan areas, wherever there are people, there is the smoke of wesak. Both monasteries and households have wesak stoves, usually located in the cleanest places in the courtyard or on the roof. The ceremony involves burning juniper branches and fragrant herbs, then adding roasted barley flour, butter, cheese, and sugar, followed by water or alcohol, allowing the mixture to smolder as an offering to the deities, accompanied by prayers.

• Six-Syllable Mantra

Also known as the Great Compassion Mantra, it is a very famous mantra in Tibetan Buddhism, with the Sanskrit phrase "Om mani padme hum" (pronounced "Ohm mah-nee pahd-may hoom" in Tibetan). Each syllable has a specific meaning:

• Om: Represents the Buddha's body, speech, and mind, symbolizing the three bodies (Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, Nirmanakaya) and the three vajras (body, speech, mind). It helps eliminate arrogance.
• Ma: Represents the jewel of the treasure, symbolizing inexhaustible wealth and fulfillment of wishes. It helps eliminate jealousy.
• Ni: Represents the lotus, symbolizing purity and enlightenment despite the surrounding impurities. It helps eliminate greed.
• Bai: Represents the vajra, symbolizing the achievement of enlightenment through the power of the Buddha. It helps eliminate ignorance.
• Mei: Represents the elimination of hunger and thirst, symbolizing the relief of poverty and suffering.
• Hum: Represents the vajra, symbolizing the overcoming of all obstacles and suffering. It helps eliminate hatred. 

• Mani Stones

Stones inscribed with the Six-Syllable Mantra, where the wind blowing over them is equivalent to reciting the mantra.

• Swastika

The swastika is a symbol of good fortune in Tibetan Buddhism (called "Yungdrung" in Tibetan). It is widely used in monasteries, homes, clothing, festivals, and weddings: as decorations on the wooden grids of monastery and home doors and windows; drawn on the ground outside doors during festivals for good fortune; painted on the foundation of new buildings for durability; and sometimes drawn on doors to ward off evil and disease. Some Tibetan women also embroider this symbol on their clothes for protection.

• Mandala 

A mandala is an imagined palace. The Buddha originally used sand to create mandalas to illustrate the Buddhist view of the universe, where the mandala represents the structure of the universe. The Buddha believed that both the macrocosm (the external world, the universe) and the microcosm (the human body, the inner world) share the same structure, the mandala. A grain of sand is a world, a Dharma hall, a temple, a city, all are mandalas. The most commonly seen are the mandala Thangkas of Dharma halls.

• Wheel of Rebirth

An illustration of the Buddhist concept of samsara, created by Siddhartha Gautama.

• Stupas

Highly realized lamas can be buried in stupas after their passing, a practice known as stupa burial, which is the highest form of funeral. The lama's body is enshrined within the stupa.

• Victory Banner 

The victory banner is usually fixed on the top of temples or important buildings, symbolizing the triumph of the Dharma over all evil and ultimate victory. It represents the Buddha's victory over the "four demons" (defilements, aggregates, death, and the heavenly king of desire), marking the attainment of enlightenment, purity, peace, and nirvana.

• Yak 

From ancient times to the present, the Tibetan people's totemic worship of the yak has been continuously developing and evolving, but it has never ceased to exist. It has become a kind of spiritual embodiment of Tibetan culture. Yaks, with their cold-resistant and load-bearing characteristics, tirelessly traverse the snowy plateau, shouldering the important role of the "boat of the snowy region."

l Totem Worship: To this day, yak skulls can still be found as offerings in Tibetan homes, corners of walls, mountain passes, bridges, mani stone piles, and temple altars. Tibetans believe that the skull is the soul's dwelling place, a symbol of the entire yak's spirit and the dignity and power of the deity. Yak patterns can also be seen in Tibetan religious art and folk crafts, and in religious ceremonies and rituals where people wear yak head masks to perform divine yak dances, all confirming the deep-rooted history of yak totem worship in Tibetan cultural life. There are also many primitive rock paintings with yak themes in Tibet, as well as yak head patterns carved on bronze ware during the Shang Dynasty and yak-shaped patterns painted on colored pottery during the Zhou Dynasty.

l Yak Spirit: Yaks embody the "yak spirit" characterized by honesty, loyalty, compassion, resilience, bravery, and dedication, profoundly influencing the character and thoughts of the Tibetan people. It is this strong character that has enabled the Tibetan people to conquer the roof of the world.

• Snow Lion

A pair of green-haired deities are often depicted beneath the lotus throne of the Buddha, likely symbolizing Dharma protectors.

• Garuda

In the snowy region, there is a creature that is half-human and half-bird. In ancient India, we called them Garuda, which is also known as the Great Golden-winged Bird.

• Makara 

Originally from Indian folklore, this creature with a long nose and sharp teeth, resembling a mix of a whale and a crocodile, is believed to have the power to stir up rivers and seas. In China, it gradually merged with Chinese dragon and fish cultures, forming a auspicious mythical beast with both fish and dragon characteristics, symbolizing protection and blessings.

Ritual Objects

• Vajra

Also known as "Vajra", originally an ancient Indian weapon, later absorbed as a ritual object in Vajrayana Buddhism. Vajras are made of materials such as gold, silver, copper, iron, and fragrant wood, and come in various forms such as one-pronged, three-pronged, five-pronged, and nine-pronged. They are cylindrical staffs with sharp points or halo-like ends. In Vajrayana, the vajra represents the indestructible wisdom and is considered a symbol of masculinity. During rituals, vajras are often used in conjunction with vajra bells.

The vajra represents the indestructible wisdom and the true nature of Buddha, capable of eliminating all afflictions and obstacles on the path to enlightenment. It also symbolizes Buddha's wisdom, suchness, emptiness, compassion, and wisdom. 

• Vajra Bell

The handle of the vajra bell is half a vajra, combined with the bell to form a whole, symbolizing pleasant sounds and softness, and is a symbol of femininity and the yin principle.

• Conch Shell

The right-turning conch shell is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols. This is a white conch shell ritual object from the Lhasa Museum, exquisitely crafted and beautifully shaped.

• Prayer Wheels

Prayer wheels are very common in Tibet and are a type of prayer instrument in Tibetan Buddhism, also known as "mani" wheels. They come in two forms: handheld and fixed. Handheld prayer wheels, also called handheld mani wheels, are made of gold, silver, or copper, decorated with various patterns, and inscribed with the Six-Syllable Mantra. They contain scrolls of scriptures and have a rotating axis. Turning the mani wheel is equivalent to reciting the scriptures.

• Fixed Prayer Wheels

These are the large prayer wheels installed in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. They come in various sizes and are made of copper or wood. The wheels are inscribed with the "Om mani padme hum" mantra, and inside they contain scrolls of scriptures. According to Tibetan Buddhist teachings, each turn of the prayer wheel is equivalent to reciting the scriptures inside. Turning the prayer wheel is a way for Tibetan Buddhists to repent, eliminate obstacles, and accumulate merit. 

• Beads

In terms of shape, Han-style Buddhist beads are more round, while Tibetan-style beads are often cylindrical or drum-shaped, and are often made to follow the natural shape of the material. The stringing methods for Tibetan beads are more diverse.

• Gau Box 

The gau box is one of the protective ritual objects in Tibetan Buddhism, used for warding off evil, protection, stabilizing the home, and increasing blessings. Gau, meaning "Buddha box" in Tibetan, is usually made of gold, silver, or copper, and is decorated with beautiful patterns, sometimes even inlaid with gemstones such as turquoise, pearls, and coral. Inside the gau box, there are small Buddha statues or scrolls of scriptures, worn on the body to pray for the Buddha's protection and good fortune. 

• Butter Lamps

Lighting a butter lamp in front of the Buddha can pray for the health and longevity of the elderly, the safety and happiness of children, and the happiness of the family. It can turn the world into a torch, making the light of wisdom never obstructed, eliminating the darkness of ignorance and confusion, gaining the wisdom of the mind, and ensuring that one is never lost in the darkness of the world.