Tibetan prayer wheels combine devotion and technological inventiveness to release into the world the beneficial intentions of the thousands of mantras contained within. According to one story of their origin, the philosopher Nagarjuna obtained the prayer wheel from[...]
The back of this thangka encapsulates Buddhist belief expressed in mantras and dharanis (longer sacred formulas), which convey the intentions of the religious master Sanggye Sengge [...]
Avalokiteshvara is considered a bodhisattva who embodies compassion. All bodhisattvas give rise to an intention, known as bodhicitta, to pursue awakening for the sake of all beings [...]
The Buddhist goddess Marichi appears in many forms. As the Goddess of the Dawn, one of her most common forms, she is depicted her in the chariot of the sun pulled by seven pigs, removing obstacles with her radiant light [...]
Mountains are a common site for ascetic practices in Buddhism and Hinduism, an ideal place of retreat where a spiritual adept can escape the [...]
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Tara is by far the most popular goddess in Tibet and often considered a female Buddha. In one of her origin stories, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is [...]
In their battle against the demons, all the male gods of the Hindu pantheon were unable to defeat the defiant Mahishasura, who had [...]
The charnel ground or cremation site is considered a powerful place for practice in Tantric Buddhism, due to its proximity to [...]
One of the most recognizable mantras in the world is om mani padme hum. While many know it, not all realize that it is associated with the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara [...]
This exquisitely crafted three-sided ritual dagger was never used in battle, but was still an effective weapon in esoteric meditation and ritual practices [...]
Mandalas play an important part in Buddhist practices, symbolizing the cosmos as the divine palace of a deity who commands his or her retinue [...]
The Wheel of Life is a Tibetan Buddhist visualization of the human condition within the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth [...]