World religions. Рахимбергенова М.Х. - 62 стр.

        • To overcome, or                                                           stands for the complete victory of the Buddhist Doctrine over all harmful and
        • Tame by forceful means.                                                   pernicious forces.
     The beads used to count mantras intended to appease should be of crystal,           The golden fish symbolises the auspiciousness of all living beings in a state
pearl or mother of pearl, and should at least be clear or white in colour. A ro-    of fearlessness, without danger of drowning in the ocean of sufferings, and mi-
sary for this purpose should have one hundred such beads. Mantras counted on        grating from place to place freely and spontaneously, just as fish swim freely
these beads serve to clear away obstacles, such as illness and other calamities,    without fear through water.
and purify one of unwholesomeness.                                                       The golden wheel symbolises the auspiciousness of the turning of the pre-
     The beads used with mantras intended to increase should be of gold, silver,    cious wheel of Buddha’s doctrine, both in its teachings and realizations, in all
copper or lotus seeds and a rosary is made of 108 of them. The mantras counted      realms and at all times, enabling beings to experience the joy of wholesome
on these serve to increase life span, knowledge and merit. The beads used with      deeds and liberation.
mantras which are intended to overcome are made from a compound of ground                The auspicious drawing symbolises the mutual dependence of religious
sandal wood, saffron and other fragrant substances. There are twenty-five beads     doctrine and secular affairs. Similarly, it represents the union of wisdom and
on this rosary. The mantras counted on them are meant to tame others, but the       method, the inseparability of emptiness and dependent arising at the time of
motivation for doing so should be a pure wish to help other sentient beings and     path, and finally, at the time of enlightenment, the complete union of wisdom
not to benefit oneself.                                                             and great compassion.
     The beads used to recite mantras aiming at subduing beings through force-           The lotus flower symbolises the complete purification of the defilements of
ful means should be made from raksha seeds or human bones in a string of            the body, speech and mind, and the full blossoming of wholesome deeds in
sixty. Again, as the purpose should be absolutely altruistic, the only person ca-   blissful liberation.
pable of performing such a feat is a Bodhisattva motivated by great compassion           The treasure vase symbolises an endless rain of long life, wealth and pros-
for a being who can be tamed through no other means, for example extremely          perity and all the benefits of this world and liberation.
malicious spirits, or general afflictions, visualized as a dense black ball.
     Beads made of Bodhi seed or wood can be used for many purposes, for
counting all kinds of mantras, as well as other prayers, prostrations, circum-
ambulations and so forth.
     The string common to all beads should consist of nine threads, which sym-
bolize Buddha Vajradhara and the eight Bodhisattvas. The large bead at the end
stands for the wisdom which cognizes emptiness and the cylindrical bead sur-
mounting it, emptiness itself, both symbolize having vanquished all opponents.
                             Eight auspicious symbols
     The white conch which coils to the right symbolises the deep, far-reaching
and melodious sound of the Dharma teachings, which being appropriate to dif-
ferent natures, predispositions and aspirations of disciples, awakens them from
the deep slumber of ignorance and urges them to accomplish their own and oth-
ers’ welfare.
     The precious umbrella symbolises the wholesome activity of preserving
beings from illness, harmful forces, obstacles and so forth in this life, and all
kinds of temporary and enduring sufferings of the three lower realms, and the
realms of men and gods in future lives. It also represents the enjoyment of a
feast of benefit under its cool shade.
     The victory banner symbolises the victory of the activities of one’s own
and others’ body, speech and mind over obstacles and negativities. It also

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