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A Mid-South
Collective dedicated to the practice of meditation and the teachings of
the Buddha. |
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EASTERN SYMBOLS __________________________
The Hexagram and OM
OM Mani Padme Hum "OM Mani Padme Hum" is the oldest and most important mantra of Tibetan Buddhism, usually translated from Sanskrit as "OM, jewel in the lotus, hum". The "jewel in the lotus" may be considered as enlightenment arising in the lotus of human consciousness. This is the holiest of Tibetan mantras, associated with the bodhisattva ("enlightened being") Avalokiteshvara, and is an expression of compassion as well as a longing for liberation and enlightenment. The Tibetan form of the mantra is as follows: 
Each Tibetan character represents one syllable in the mantra, and these six syllables are linked to the six modes of existence in the bhava-chakra ("Wheel of Life"). The Wheel of Life is divided into six segments: the upper half of the Wheel contains the higher realms of gods, antigods (jealous gods) and human beings. The lower half of the Wheel contains the lower realms of animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings. Each being is born into one of these realms of existence according to its karma, and books like the Tibetan Book of the Dead detail ways to ensure rebirth in the higher realms and avoid the lower ones. The syllables of the mantra of Avalokiteshvara are assigned to the realms so that each of the types of beings may be taught the way to liberation from the cycle of existence. Created by Robert Mills, the HexagrOM symbol places each syllable of the mantra on a point of a hexagram, with the balancing center of the hexagram containing the powerful OM symbol itself. The cyclical setting of the syllables in order around the points of the hexagram mirrors the repetition of the mantra, both in its spoken form and in the prayer wheels found in Tibetan temples. The hexagram is a symbol of liberation in terms of the spiritually-aspiring upward triangle, and compassion in terms of the universally-immanent downward triangle, and as such makes a powerful synthesis with this most revered of mantras:
The Meaning of OM OM is used both as a visual and an oral symbol in many traditions, and it is the most venerable Hindu symbol of spiritual knowledge. It is considered to be the highest name of God, synonymous with both the Supreme Godhead and the Personal God, and as such it represents the concept that the Divine and individual consciousnesses are essentially the same. Tradition considers the syllable itself to be the root sound of Creation, the expression through which all things were formed and which continues to permeate everything. The sound of OM is sometimes referred to as the Pranava: that which permeates Prana or unites all life. In the written form of OM, the long, lower curve represents the waking state and the material world, with the upper curve following on from it representing deep, dreamless sleep and the unconscious. Between the two, a third curve denotes dreaming and the thought world. Beyond these three states is the state of liberation, represented by the semicircle and the dot. The incompleteness of the semicircle signifies infinity, that finite thinking cannot reach the point in any meaningful way. Repetition of the syllable OM as a mantra and meditation on the OM symbol are powerful methods of awakening and balancing spiritual centers in the individual. They are considered to be preeminent ways of realizing the Divine. OM, like Amen and Ahmeen means the Divine which manifests as all that is. OM
is the "word" as in; "in the beginning was the word" which means primal sound or
vibration from which all other names and forms arise and to which we all return.
OM is the Alpha and the Omega. _____________________________ Yin and Yang One yin, one yang, that is the Tao.
The quotation above is the first known reference to yin and yang, the pair of polar energies whose cyclic fluctuations and interactions cause and govern Creation. Together they are polar expressions of the supreme ultimate, t'ai-chi, the eternal Tao. Yin originally was the name given to the colder, north-facing slope of a mountain, and yang to the warmer, southern, sun-facing one. Thus yin corresponds to the dark, the receptive, the passive, the feminine; while yang corresponds to the bright, the creative, the active, the masculine. Yin is the moon, water and the earth. Yang is the sun, fire and the heavens. One symbolic system of representing the mutual fluctuations of these energies is the trigrams of the I Ching, another is the famous symbol shown above. It is a dynamic symbol, showing the continual interaction and balance of the two energies, and as such it is a very harmonizing symbol. As each of the energies reaches its apogee, it begins to transform into its opposite, and this is shown by the dots in the symbol. At its height yang contains the seed of yin, just as yin contains the seed of yang. Lao-tzu in the Tao-te ching wrote: 'Everything has both yin and yang in it -- and from their rise-and-fall coupling comes new life.'
The Enso
(Japanese for 'circle') is a Zen symbol of the absolute, the true nature of
existence and enlightenment. It is a symbol that combines the visible and the
hidden, the simple and the profound, the empty and the full. As an expression of
infinity, it has links to the western lemniscate, and may be painted so that
there is a slight opening somewhere in the circle, showing that the Enso is not
contained in itself, but that it opens out to infinity.
The enso, a simple circle drawn with a
single, broad brushstroke, is the zen symbol of infinity. It represents the
infinite void, the 'no-thing,' the perfect meditative state, and Satori
(enlightenment.)
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![[Yin]](yinsym.gif){kind=small}
![[Yang]](yangsym.gif){kind=small}
![[Yin]](yinhanzi.gif){kind=small}
![[Yang]](yanghanzi.gif){kind=small}
