Iconography*

The front has a telescopic view of a tiger in the pure lands surrounded by blue and red chrysanthemums with white tips. Inside of the telescope's view thare are 3 mountains floating in the ether, mare's tail cumulus clouds and rock cliffs and Kusha grass.   Kusha grass grows to a height of two feet & 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 & meditation.  Kusha is the grass of choice for the manufacture of sacred meditation mats. The blue, red, & green cliffs represent the unmoving nature of the mind when enlightenment has been attained.

The top has an elegant mirror sitting on a lotus throne set in mahamudra mists. Two camp flowers are streaking out of the mists with durva grass companions. 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. Durva grass symbolizes long life.  Because grass is highly resilient, it is believed to be immortal.  Therefore, it proclaims the end of samsara, the successive death & rebirth of all beings.  It usually takes a long time to overcome samsara, & a longer lifespan will allow greater progress in moving towards enlightenment within a given cycle.

The sides have an elegant Victory banner that seems to be lifted by a triple lotus throne all set in Mahamudra mists with twin gallerys of rock cliffs as witness. The Victory banner is an early Buddhist motif meaning the enlightenment of the Buddha and the triumph of knowledge over ignorance, this symbol also is used to recall the Buddha’s triumph over his temptress, Mara.The lotus flower  is another natural symbol and represents earth.  Tibetan Buddhist mystics imagined the earth floating like a lotus flower on the oceans of the universe. The heart of the flower is the cosmic mountain, the axis of the universe. The generally acknowledged meaning of the lotus flower is purity of mind or divine creation. From the muck of a pond, where the roots of the lotus reside, an immaculate white flower emerges to rest on the surface of the water as a metaphor for the harmonious unfolding of spirituality. The lotus is an important Buddhist motif.  Images of the Buddha and other important persons often are shown seated on a lotus throne.  The growth of the lotus, with its roots in mud, growing through water, and emerging as a wonderful plant above the water's surface, is seen as an analogy of the soul’s path from the mud of materialism to the purity of enlightenment. The 3 stages of the lotus, bud, utpala (mid-blossom) and the full blossoming throne represent the past present and future respectively.The billowing waves are Mahamudra, the union of compassion & wisdom- the ultimate realization of one’s true nature; they are represented as the transformation of our vices into the 4 powers of regret, vow, reliance & remedy, so that the practitioner will realize purification and enlightenment.