February 20, 2005
Thangka with Triangles
While attending to a radiator, look what I missed, or rather, look what 's out there that I simply wasn't seeing. This is both a metaphorophoto, and a metamorphophoto, particular categories in photosymbolism (that I just made up).
I spent some time trying to identify the thangka. I think it's Tibetan Buddha with a snake around his neck. Ostensibly, the snake, an incarnation of one of the the Buddha's enemies, attacked him by wrapping itself around him seven times. Because of the Buddha's inner strength, the snake could not kill him, and, instead. became his friend.
This painting depicts the more harmonious stage of Buddha's relationship with the snake. The snake is the symbol of clear thinking and wisdom, that is, if you are not Christian, in which case, the snake is quite a threat . Look what happened to Adam and Eve , for god's sake.
From the Jovial Atheist:
"We do know one of the symbols of Clear Thought, wisdom and learning has been, and is, the SNAKE. The SNAKE has from very early times, symbolized human wisdom, knowledge and the scientific approach to life. The SNAKE, as an Oriental symbol of wisdom, seems to have been the antithesis (opposite) of all the western religions. The SNAKE opposed what the western religions stood for. That is, western religions stood for belief, faith and obedience, while the Oriental SNAKE stood for the veneration of honest doubt, scientific knowledge and wisdom.
In the Bible, the SNAKE is the bringer of knowledge and wisdom. That is, the SNAKE introduced Adam and Eve to the partaking from the Tree of Knowledge. The western gods, on the other hand, wanted man to remain ignorant of the philosophies and beliefs of other peoples. The priest of the western gods forbade man from learning at the Tree of Knowledge. Could this story be inspired by the "Bo Tree" under which Buddha also founded his eight fold path to wisdom? I have been told that the word translated "Bo" means in one of the ancient Chinese languages, "Smart, wise or Wisdom".
Buddha was not the first to sit under the Tree of Knowledge and receive enlightenment. Many other ancient and earlier Oriental philosophers are also pictured as sitting under a tree with a snake showing in its branches. In some ancient Sanskrit writings four thousand years ago, this tree with the snake in it is even called, "THE TREE OF WISDOM, or THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE". The Garden of Eden story simply mirrors the age-old conflict between Honest Thinking and Dishonest Belief. "
Notice the Buddha's hand position is open, in a gesture of charity, meaning the fulfillment of all wishes. And we love all those triangles , not to mention the tree of life , or maybe it's just a maple.
Posted by Dakota at February 20, 2005 09:37 AM