Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tsepame (Amitayus)
The Buddha of Longevity, like Öpagme, is red and holds his hands in a meditation gesture,
but he holds a vase containing the nectar of immortality. He is often seen in groups of nine.
Medicine Buddhas (Menlha)
The medicine buddha holds a medicine bowl in his left hand and herbs in his right, while
rays of healing light emanate from his blue body. He is often depicted in a group of eight.
The Buddhist parable of the Four Harmonious Brothers is painted on walls at the entrance
to many monasteries. The image is of a bird picking a tree-top fruit, while standing atop a
hare, who is atop a monkey, who is atop an elephant. On its most basic level the image
symbolises cooperation and harmony with the environment.
Dhyani Buddhas (Gyalwa Ri Nga)
Each of the five Dhyani buddhas is a different colour, and each of them has different
mudras,
symbols and attributes. They are Öpagme, Nampar Namse (Vairocana), Mikyöba
(or Mitrukpa; Akhshobya), Rinchen Jungne (Ratnasambhava) and Donyo Drupa
(Amoghasiddhi).
Jampa (Maitreya)
Jampa, the Future Buddha, is passing the life of a bodhisattva until it is time to return to
earth in human form 4000 years after the disappearance of Sakyamuni. He is normally
seated in European fashion, with a scarf around his waist, often with a white stupa in his
hair and his hands by his chest in the
mudra
of turning the Wheel of Law. Jampa is much
larger than the average human and so statues of Jampa are often several storeys high.
The
dorje
(thunderbolt) and
drilbu
(bell) are ritual objects symbolising male and female as-
pects used in Tantric rites. They are held in the right and left hands respectively. The in-
destructible thunderbolt cuts through ignorance.
