Dharma Arts

Dharma Arts&Calligraphy

~ H. E. Tulku Ogyen Rinpoche

Skt; AH, Tib: AH Syllable, symbol of all 3 times Buddha’s Seeds and it’s represented to all existing is naturally emptiness.

1) The last of the thirty letters of the Tibetan alphabet; a universal vowel present in all letters.

2) The shortest form of the perfection of wisdom.

It is explained to contain the meaning of the entire teachings of Buddha; heavily blessed syllable.

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DHHI

# 3 Tib: DHI Syllable stands for Seed of Manju Shri wisdom Buddha and it’s benefit to

swift developing knowledge, steady mind and happiness.

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Tam

Skt; Arya Tara Tib; Drolma

Tam Syllable stands for Seed of Tara Devi, The Goddess Drolma, she that saves from trans-migratory existence ;

one of the most popular deities in Tibet, and of whom there are supposed to be many sprul-ku or branch emanations.

Some Sgrol-ma kyil-khor (Tara Mandala) exhibit 21 different manifestations. The several appellations of Drolmas are:

Om-mdsad; Rgyal-yum; Mchog-gi ma; Myur-skyop; Hjig-ten dwang-sras-mo; Shi-ma phong-skyob; Legs-byin ma;

Chos-kyi dpal-mo. Drolma Kurukule, one of the 21 manifestations of the Goddess Dolma. Still there are lots of different names.

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Still working

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Droom

Pali; Droom. Skt; Vimana. Tib; Zshalye-Khang. Droom syllable in Tibetan Buddhist ritual,

seeds of imaging for the castle in the air, superb mansion, castles in which the gods are supposed to live.

There is couple of different Vimanas; the heavens containing the superb mansion of the gods, the wonder-residences of the gods.

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dZogChen

(Tibetan bendy letter)

Great Perfection.

A term exclusive to Nyingma doctrine and meditation. The spontaneous and natural Perfection of fully enlightened qualities

possessed by the three kayas within the reality of mind, i.e, primordially empty nature dharmakaya; the naturally luminous

sambhogakaya; and all-pervasive compassion nirmanakaya, which is otherwise the ultimate reality of all phenomena.

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Still more coming deferent Syllables..................

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The Four Friends or Harmonious Brothers

The familiar Tibetan motif of ‘the four friends’ – an elephant, monkey, hare, and partridge forming an acrobatic pyramid

beneath a tree – has its origin in the Tittira Jataka legend of one of the Buddha’s previous lives. IN the Tittira fable

however, only three animals are mentioned – the elephant, monkey, and partridge. This moral tale illustrates that age

must be respected above learning, greatness, or noble birth.The parable relates how Shariputra, one of the Buddha’s

eldest disciples, was unable to find lodging in the town of Vaisali, as the younger disciples had hurried ahead to selfishly

secure all available accommodation for themselves. Early the next morning Buddha learned that Shariputra had passed

the night alone beneath a tree. In response to the self-cherishing attitude which prevailed amongst the younger sangha,

Buddha related the Tittira Jataka parable of the ‘honoring of age’.

“Once, beneath a great banyan tree in the Himalayan foothills, there lived three friends – a partridge, a monkey,

and an elephant. Their mutual respect had diminished, and in order to determine who was the most senior they began to

discuss the age of the banyan tree beneath which they dwelt. The elephant spoke first, telling of how when he was but

a baby the banyan tree was only a small bush. The monkey then relates how in his infancy the tree was merely a shrub.

Then the partridge spoke, telling of how he had once swallowed the original seed, and how this mighty tree had actually

sprouted from his droppings. The partridge was then honored as the eldest, senior in rank to the monkey and the elephant.

Once again harmony prevailed in the animal kingdom.”

Buddha decreed that henceforth age would confer priority amongst the sangha. He revealed that in this previous existence

his disciple Maudgalyayana had been the elephant, Shariputra the Elder had been the monkey, whilst Buddha himself had

been the partridge. The hare was later included in this legend, and identified with the Buddha’s eldest disciple, Ananda.

The hare was second in seniority, as he had first seen the tree when it was a leafless sapling.

These four herbivorous animals represent the four terrestrial habitats of sky (partridge), tree (monkey), ground (elephant),

and underground (hare). Sometimes the bird is identified as a grouse, and the banyan tree is usually illustrated as a fruit tree.

A variation of the story has them standing on each other’s backs in order to reach the fruit. Here the implied moral is

cooperation. Occasionally the animals are illustrated on both sides of the tree: on one side separate into their respective

habitats and on the other side unite in harmonious cooperation.

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The 6 Auspicious symbols of long life
(Tib. Tse-ring drug skor)

The painting of the "six symbols of longevity" is quite common in the fresco of monasteries and on the walls of Tibetan families. It is a typically

traditional Tibetan motif. With bright colors, the painting is attractive and unique in terms of style, content, and design. The painting refers

to a very old legend about an extremely beautiful and tranquil place where people dream to be, a cloud-kissing, firm and eternal Stone

Mountain which, like the right-turning conch was worshiped by Amitayus; "a lonegeous old man" with a large, plump forehead and a long

white beard on his face, benevolent in appearance and holding an ancient precious bottle and holy peach. He is living happily in the

charming landscape. The hot spring, worshiped by the old man, is welling up from the valley of the Stone Mountain and flowing eternally

to foster good health; an old tree living on this land and nourished by the hot spring is deeply rooted in the earth and appears to be

flourishing and fruitful. It is a sacred place for people to enjoy the cool atmosphere; cranes are also living in this abundant land, shadowed

by the ancient tree, fed with eternal fruits, and looked after by the old man. They happily search for food in his yard, which attracts

various kinds of birds and beasts. On the grassland, not far from the old man, a buck and a doe are romping; having been protected by

the old man, they are enjoying the profuse grass and abundant spring water.

This traditional painting is acknowledged as a highly valued artwork with profound philosophical connotations and is treasured by people

living at Tibetan inhabited areas.

Why do ethnic Tibetans love this painting? If we use contemporary ideology to read the profound contents and mysteries of the story,

we could soon discover that our Tibetan ancestors had already been enriched with an awareness of environmental protection very early

in their history. With sharpened eyes, they have totally embraced the balanced relationship between ecological systems. What a surprise!

As is known, the "six longevity symbols" are respectively referred to as "longevous cliff", "longevous old man", "longevous tree",

"longevous water", "longevous crane" and "longevous deer". All of them are closely and mutually connected.

Tibetans believe that the "longevous cliff" is composed of the land, people, and Stone Mountain. The "Stone Mountain" refers to

solidity and eternity. Prayers for longevity of land and mountains by ancestors of Tibetans are seen as meaning that the land and

mountains needed to be protected. The globe provides mankind with the natural environment and resources, which human beings

depend on to live and develop. But it is unquestionable that mankind should not compromise these resources for the sake of grasping

short-term benefits. If they do so, weather and geographic catastrophes will become more frequent in this land, thus human beings

will destroy their own natural environment and eventually wipe themselves out. Actually, the old man in the painting refers to all

human beings. So long as the ancient land exists, human beings could survive forever. It is a symbiotic relationship between the

two. Beyond this, a balance of "longevity" should be taken into consideration too. For example, the third symbol "longevous

water" appears. Water is the vital origin of all flesh. Neither human beings nor other live-forms will survive without water.

The "longevous tree" in the painting expresses the vegetation in the land that needs to be permanently living through its vital

force. The tree is the "number one" form of vegetation on the earth. All plants together are the skin of the earth. Only by fully

protecting the "skin" can all life be guaranteed. The nourishing forces of "longevous water" ensure the "longevous tree" will

continue to flourish. The "longevous crane" refers to the birds that are living around the homestead of mankind. They are

all friends of humanity. To depict the scene in which the old man takes care of the longevous crane, perfectively introduces

the idea that human beings should look after birds so that a harmonious society could exist and bird species could survive

throughout time. The long-living beast in the painting symbolizes that all kinds of fauna are the neighbors of mankind and that

they all need to be protected by humanity.

The "six symbols of longevity" inspires peoples of the world to cherish all life on the earth and sustain it in a harmonious state

in order to maintain ecological balance. Only by taking this approach, can the environment where humanity lives be

protected. An ecologically balanced system could make a sustainable and pleasant homestead possible and finally the ideology

of "six longevities" could become a reality.

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