Page 24 - Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols

Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Sy 9/1/10 11:29 AM Page 6

6 T he Handbook of T ibet an B uddhist S ymbols

The auspicious symbol of a pair of fishes
is common to the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist
traditions. In ancient Egypt a pair of fishes
symbolized the fertile waters of the River
Nile. The early Christians adopted the
paired fishes as an emblem of Christ as the
‘fisher of men’, and acrostically interpreted
the letters of the Greek word for fish,
ichthys, to mean ‘Jesus Christ, of God the
Son and Savior’.
The two golden fishes, a male and a fe-
male, are usually depicted symmetrically and
in the form of carp, with graceful tails, gills,
and fins, and long tendrils extending from
their upper jaws. Carp are traditionally re-
garded as sacred fish in the orient, on ac-
count of their elegant beauty, size, and
longevity, and because of their association The golden treasure vase.
with certain benevolent deities. The paired
fish are often depicted with their noses festival (Skt. mela) is held in rotation every
touching, and in Hinduism this is a symbol three years at the cities of Allahabad, Harid-
of the female sexual organ or yoni. A golden war, Nasik, and Ujain, and commemorates
fish is the attribute of the great Indian Ma- the spilling of the divine nectar of the gods
hasiddha Tilopa, symbolizing both his real- (Skt. amrita) at these four sacred sites (see
ization and his ability to liberate beings Appendix 1).
from the ocean of cyclic existence (Skt. sam- The treasure vase is predominantly a
sara). The auspicious symbol of the two symbol of certain wealth deities, including
fishes that were presented to the Buddha Jambhala, Vaishravana, and Vasudhara,
was probably embroidered in gold thread where it often appears as an attribute be-
upon a piece of Benares silk. neath their feet. One form of the wealth
goddess Vasudhara stands upon a pair of
horizontal treasure vases that spill an end-
THE TREASURE VASE less stream of jewels. As the divine ‘vase of
(Skt. nidhana-kumbha; Tib. gter-gyi bum- plenty’ (Tib. bum-pa bzang-po) it possesses
pa) the quality of spontaneous manifestation,
because however much treasure is removed
The golden treasure vase, or ‘vase of inex- from the vase it remains perpetually full.
haustible treasures’, is modeled upon the The typical Tibetan treasure vase is rep-
traditional Indian clay water pot. This pot is resented as a highly ornate golden vase,
known as a kalasha or kumbha, with a flat with lotus-petal motifs radiating around its
base, round body, narrow neck, and fluted various sections. A single wish-granting
upper rim. This womb-like sacred kumbha gem, or a group of three gems, seals its
is venerated in India at the great religious upper rim as a symbol of the Three Jewels
‘pot festival’ of the Kumbh Mela. This of the Buddha, dharma, and sangha. The