Tibetan Conch Shell with Shakyamuni Buddha Hand Carved

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HME21780
$98.73
Tibetan Conch Shell with Shakyamuni Buddha Hand Carved code: HME21780 Weight : 1.14 Kg(s) size :20 Cm
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FOB
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Pcs
Package Weight:
1.14 kgs
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25
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250
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1
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Product Tags Tibetan Conch Shell, Shakyamuni Buddha Hand Carved, Ritual Object, Religious Object, Natural Sea conch shell, Hinduism shankha, Shankha, Buddhisim shankha
Province: Bagmati

Tibetan Conch Shell with Shakyamuni Buddha Hand Carved


Weight: 1.14 kg
Size: 20 cm
Material: Conch shell


About the Product


Brief Introduction


Iconography
The idea of freeing the self (ourselves) from material world & the realisation of the supreme self is a theme common to Indian Philosophy. This is why word associated with the liberation such as Moksha Samsara ( cycles of suffering) Karma & Nirvana are common to Hinduism Jainism & Sikhism. The difference between these three schools of thought is twofold 1. How this freeing of the self is attained & 2. What the nature of this freedom 'is'. That is what state of being freed or partly freed actually feels like or how it can be described.

Gautama is painted with golden skin sitting in a lotus seat [Skt. Padmasana] also called the meditative seat [Skt. Dhyanasana] & upon a white moon disc which represents the male principle of method which itself is upon a lotus throne. His left hand touches the ground in what is called bhumisparse mudra which symbolises his own recognition of enlightened mind in one of the most iconic images in all Buddhism. The palm always faces inwards. His feet are deliberately drawn level with one another & enlarged being specific marks of a Buddha. His right hand supports an alms bowl [Skt. Patra] containing the liquid elixir of eternal life. Somehow the simple image of the bowl reflects his overwhelming humility & kindness. He wears the traditionally maroon gold monk's patched robe [Skt. Samghati] made of twenty five pieces of cloth which the first Buddhist monks sewed together. The Buddha has a green nimbus and blue aureole around his body signifying the highest level of understanding. Siddhartha is surrounded by Pink Lotuses [Skt. Padma]. This kind of lotus is connected with loving kindness & a flowering of pure consciousness. The closed bud to his right side represents the past or originating mind the blooming flower represents the present & the buds represents the future Buddha Maitreya and forthcoming realisations. His elongated earlobes depict his royal connection; his knotted black hair & topknot symbolise his abandonment of worldly possessions; the dot [Skt. Urna] on his brow on the command chakra [Skt. Ajna] represents his transcendent wisdom the 31st mark of a Buddha.



Life Story
Gautama was born c.563 BCE Lumbini today in Nepal Died c.483 BCE Kushinagar in India. within the Sakya kingdom in Nepal. He family names were variously called Gautama [Skt. 'Best Cow'] & surname Shakyamuni [Skt. meaning 'Sage of the Shakyas'] The name Gautama is linked with a person called Maharshi [Eng. victorious on earth] Gautama who was an ancient seer. Maharshi Gouthama descendents adopted his surname. During his life he was as often called Gautama Tathagata as Gautama Siddhi-hatha as Gautama Buddha. It was in recognition of his spiritual accomplishments he was called Siddhartha & relates to why Gautama is a Hindu avatar. The lineage of 23 Buddhas were for the majority drawn from Janapada Kings & high ranking Brahmins.
He studied Buddhist Ideas in several locations in Kashmir & Northern India which to may seem a contradiction in terms this is because to many Gautama Buddha is what Buddhism is. There are in fact two basic schools of thought. 1. That Gautama is recognised for his enlightened reasoning who according to Theravada Buddhism was the 28th Buddha. 2. That he is the Supreme Buddha [Skt. Sammasambuddha] of our age & that he is the be all & end all of Buddhist Doctrine & closely follow his progress or 'life story' & to how he in how became full awoken. In Hinduism he is considered to be the ninth avatar of God Vishnu.

At the age of 29 Siddhartha left his palace in order to meet his people. Despite his father's effort to remove the sick aged & impoverished Siddhartha encountered an old man. Disturbed by this when told that all people would eventually grow old by his charioteer Channa variously a diseased man a decaying corpse and an ascetic. Deeply depressed by these sights he sought to overcome old age illness and death by living the life of an ascetic. He left his palace leaving behind this royal life to become a mendicant. Siddhartha left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers. After mastering the teachings of Alara Kalama Siddhartha was asked by Kalama to succeed him but moved on.
He then became a student of Uddaka Ramaputta but although he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness and was asked to succeed Ramaputta he was still not satisfied with his path and moved on. He initially became as ascetic but then After asceticism and concentrating on meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of breathing in and out) Siddhartha is said to have discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way- a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.
Gautama thus journeyed to Deer Park near Varanasi (Benares) in northern India he set in motion the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to the group of five companions with whom he had previously sought enlightenment. They together with the Buddha formed the first sangha the company of Buddhist monks. For the remaining 45 years of his life the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic Plain in what is now Uttar Pradesh Bihar & southern Nepal teaching to an extremely diverse range of people from nobles to outcaste street sweepers mass murderers such as Angulimala & cannibals such as Alavaka. The sangha travelled from place to place in India expounding the dharma.

2nd Commentary Gautama's entire Teachings revolve around: The Principle of the Three marks of existence; 1. Dukkha (Sanskrit: du?kha): That all beings suffer from all situations due to unclear mind. 2. Anicca (Sanskrit: anitya): That all things are impermanent. 3. Anatta (Sanskrit: anatman): That the perception of a constant "self" is an illusion. Gautama considers the arising of this suffering & explains that this is caused by a misunderstanding of phenomena (the world around us) which is impermanent [Anicca] which he then related to the illusion of the ego which is actually nothing but an illusion. [Anatta]. He shows that by understanding the nature of the suffering & specifically its arising we can alleviate this or extinguish it altogether.

 

Mantra of Shakyamuni buddha

Om Muni Muni Maha Muniye Soha

 

 

 

Sankha: Brief Introduction

An offering vessel; a symbol of Vishnu. In Hindu tradition the conch shell seems to have been extensively used in wars by ancient Indian. The white conch shell whose humming sound proclaims the glory of the saints. It is especially given as a symbol to the gods as the sound vibrated through a shell penetrates far and wide.CONCH SHELL: IconographicThe conch shell this has been used as the original from the past ancient times in ancient history of Nepal and India these horns are used to commence is any rituals or worn. Popularly known as Shanka is a musical instrument blow by the lord Krishna to declare the start of the war of Mahabharata. in all the epic stories of Hinduism shankha has been described being carried by all the heroes of the past.

In Vajrayana Buddhism.This has been recognised as the symbol of fearlessness and proclaimed the truth of dharma. This is the one of the eight symbols of good fortune this stands for the popularity and fame of Buddhist teaching which spread in all direction like the sound of the Conch Trumpet.

In addition to Buddha's throat the conch also appears as an auspicious mark on the soles palms limbs breast or forehead of a divinely endowed being.

The fourfold caste division is also applied as follows:

The smooth white conch represents the Brahmin caste (priests)
The red conch the kshatriyas (warriors)
The yellow conch the vaishyas (merchants)
The grey conch the shudras (labourers)
Additionally there is a fundamental classification of conch shells occurring in nature: those that turn to the left and those which turn to the right. Shells which spiral to the right in a clockwise direction are a rarity and are considered especially sacred. The right-spiralling movement of such a conch is believed to echo the celestial motion of the sun moon planets and stars across the heavens. The hair whorls on Buddha's head spiral to the right as do his fine body hairs the long curl between his eyebrows (urna) and also the conch-like swirl of his navel.
The Left Turning Conch The Right Turning ConchIt is one of the main emblems of Vishnu and his conch bears the name of Panchajanya meaning 'having control over the five classes of beings.'

Arjuna's (hero of the Mahabharata) mighty conch was known as Devadatta whose triumphant blast brought terror to the enemy. As a proclaiming battle horn the conch is akin to the bugle. It is an emblem of power authority and sovereignty whose blast is believed to banish evil spirits avert natural disasters and scare away poisonous creatures.

Today in its greatly tamed avatar the conch is used in Tibetan Buddhism to call together religious assemblies. During the actual practise of rituals it is used both as a musical instrument and as a container for holy water.

Ancient Indian belief classifies the conch into male and female varieties. The thicker-shelled bulbous one is thought to be the male (purusha) and the thin-shelled slender conch to be the female (shankhini).

 

Buddhist monk blowing conch shell at Mindrolling Monastery



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