Page 34 - Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols

Handbook of Tibetan Buddhis#133 9/1/10 11:34 AM Page 16

THE EIGHT AUSPICIOUS

SUBSTANCES

he eight auspicious substances (Skt. clarity of his realization and the unerring
Tastamangaladravya; Tib. bkra-shis karmic vision of all his previous lives. The
rdzas-brgyad) or ‘bringers of good fortune’ mirror represents right thought or analysis,
form the second main group of early Bud- as it truthfully reflects all things as they are,
dhist symbols. They consist of: (1) a mirror; without favoritism, prejudice, delusion, or
(2) precious medicine; (3) yogurt or curds; distortion.
(4) durva grass; (5) bilva fruit; (6) a white The medicine (Skt. gorochana), derived
conch shell; (7) cinnabar or vermilion pow- from the vital glands in the forehead of an
der; (8) mustard seed. Like the eight auspi- elephant, represents the great guardian ele-
cious symbols, these eight items are probably phant Dhanapala (Tib. Nor-skyong), who
also of pre-Buddhist origin and were adopted protected the meadows at Bodh Gaya where
into early Buddhism during the period of its the Buddha attained enlightenment. This
initial inception. They represent a specific medicine represents right mindfulness, as it
group of offerings that were presented to the cures the disease of ignorance, which is the
Buddha as symbols of his Eightfold Noble root cause of all suffering.
Path of right view, thought, speech, action, The curds represent the offering of milk
livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and medita- rice that the farmer’s virtuous daughter
tion. Like the eight auspicious symbols, the
eight auspicious substances were later deified
in Vajrayana Buddhism to form a group of Facing page: Various examples of the eight auspi-
eight offering goddesses. cious substances. The mirror (top row); the medi-
cine (second row); the yogurt (third row); the
The mirror represents the radiant offer- durva grass (fourth row); the bilva fruit (fifth
ing goddess of light, Prabhavati (Tib. ’Od- row); the conch (sixth row); the vermilion pow-
’chang-ma), who presented Shakyamuni der (seventh row); and the mustard seed (bottom
with a stainless mirror, symbolizing both the row).