Iconography

The top of this altar table is very well done. It contains a combination of sense offerings, medicinal offerings and a look into oneself. The offering bowl has a mirror, a lute, Medicine Buddha's medicine bowl and bael fruit AKA wood apple. The mirror is an ancient Buddhist symbol for clarity, completeness of perception, and purity of consciousness. A mirror reflects a thing objectively, but what we see in the mirror is not the thing itself.  Because the object is not seen directly, it may be seen more accurately ~ more clearly, without judgment and with greater perspective.  This can lessen the tendency to see a thing as fixed or solid and encourage better understanding.  The mirror, or perception, more effectively propels the mind toward insight and compassion than mere argument or lecture.  In Tibet, the lute is known as pi wang, in Sanskrit the vina.  In Tibetan art, the lute is held by such deities as Sarasvati, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom; Shabdavajra, the offering goddess of sound; Dhritarashtra, the white guardian king of the east; Vinadhara, the offering goddess of music; and the gandharvas, or celestial musicians.  The end of the lute's neck has makara-tail scrolling typical of Tibetan lutes. The sound box is covered with an animal skin. This is a sound-offering depiction. The wood apple, or bael fruit, is a baseball-sized fruit with a hard skin and a sticky, highly aromatic pulp.  This fruit is eaten more for its medicinal qualities than for its taste.  Bael fruit increases one's beneficial, positive karma and thus brings one closer to release from samsara.  The fruit also symbolizes the goal of recognizing emptiness and dependency and the connection between cause and effect.  It challenges us to avoid actions that will cause suffering and to increase actions that will promote healing.

The front and back are very similar, featuring Cintimani, two sets of elephant tusks, red coral, fine cloths draped over a leopard skin. flanking this are rock cliffs with Kusha grass going out of the top surfaces. Cintamani are wish-granting jewels and additionally represent wisdom.  When depicted in sets of 3, they represent the body, speech and mind of Buddha such as the practitioner may possess.  Cintamani are also referred to as the “Thinking Jewel” and symbolize the importance of teaching and as well as the enlightened mind. Pictured here are 6 flaming jewels. Elephant tusks are sometimes depicted and are symbolic of the whole elephant and generally represent Chakravartin's Precious Elephant. The Precious Elephant is a symbol of the strength of the mind in Buddhism. Exhibiting noble gentleness, the precious elephant serves as a symbol of the calm majesty possessed by one who is on the path. Specifically, it embodies the boundless powers of the Buddha, which are miraculous aspiration, effort, intention, and analysis. The Chakravartin, or Wheel Turner in Hinduism refers to an ideal ruler, but in Buddhism, Chakravartin has come to mean a Buddha whose all-encompassing teachings are universally true.  Chakravartin has an army of 4 divisions, infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots. Chakravartin is the lineage of 25 Kulika kings or enlightened monarchs, the 25th of which will finally defeat the "non-believers." The red coral is used as a jewel for ornamentation, decorating jewelry.  As Mala bead, it depicts a symbolic offering and also a wish for acquisition. It is a precious offering of great value. In th is case it would be a reminder to help others, those less fortunate, the oppressed, the widow and orphans, an active display of commpasion that earns great merit. The rock/cliff formation represents the syllable "E" which appears in the opening stanza of early Buddhist scriptures, ("'thus,' I have heard"). The blue and green cliffs represent the unmoving nature of the mind when enlightenment has been attained. The tops of these cliffs have Kusha grass growing out of them. Kusha grass grows to a height of two feet and is used to purify defilements.  Those wishing purification sleep in a field or patch of kusha grass for ritual purification.  Placed under a pillow at night before initiation, Kusha grass is believed to produce clear dreams; it is also used to enhance the clarity of visualization and meditation.  Kusha is the grass of choice for the manufacture of sacred meditation mats.

The side drawers are a continuation of the front and back. One drawer has the Cintamani, fine cloths, elephant tusks, but in this case the cloth is draped over a skin of a tiger at one end and the skin of a leopard at the other. The opposite drawer has rock cliffs. The  Leopard's spots  resemble (according to Tibetans) the female vagina, consequently the flayed skin of the leopard is more commonly worn by dakinis or wrathful goddesses as a skirt or apron.  The large cat skins are most frequently associated with the wrathful deities, Mahakala is usually seen with the tiger skin wrapped around his waist.  Victory banners and the asama or meditational seats are also adorned with leopard skins, as are bow quivers. The tiger is a symbol of strength, military prowess.  Tigers were indigenous to eastern Tibet, where the Wutun Monastery is located.  A more subtle meaning has to do with Tantric Buddhism.  Tiger skins were a favored meditational mat for Tantric sages.  In Tantric Buddhism, the tiger skin represents the transmutation of anger into wisdom and insight, also offering protection to the meditator from outside harm or spiritual interference. Tiger icons in Tibetan Buddhism are most prevalent in eastern Tibet, appearing on more furniture and rugs here than anywhere else in Tibet.