Shirivasta or Eternal Knot

The Tibetan knot can stand for karmic consequences: pull here, something happens over there. It is an apt symbol for the Vajrayana methods: Often when we tug at one part of a knot while trying to loosen it, another part becomes tighter. You have to work with the knot to enable it to come undone. In its endless configuration, it evokes the cyclic nature of rebirth and also calls karmic connections to mind.

Resembling the well-known Celtic knot, this unbroken weaving of geometric lines has shown up in many cultures around the world, making it a universal symbol. The design is a symmetrical knot, loosely woven, balanced and graceful with no loose ends – in fact no end at all – a closed loop signifying eternity and unity.

For Buddhists, the Endless Knot is a reminder that everything in the universe is related, and that future events have their root in the present. The design represents and symbolizes cause and effect, in other words – karma. The knot, eternal design and symbol that it is, tells us that we are bound to our karmic destiny. The knot is also a reminder to us to keep to the path of enlightenment and to meditate on the master’s teachings.

The Endless Knot may have started off as the intertwining of two snakes - the Naga symbol - (meaning serpent or dragon) and suggestive of dualities like good and evil, or light and darkness. But such opposing forces are destined to come together to create harmony in the universe. A decidedly snakelike banner is sometimes shown lacing its way through the lower loops of the Endless Knot.

The Endless Knot has given rise to many interpretations that involve interdependence, such as wisdom and compassion, religion and secular affairs, stillness and action.

The endless knot (Skt. shrivatsa; Tib. dpal be'u) is a closed, graphic ornament composed of right-angled, intertwined lines. It overlaps without a beginning or an end, symbolising the Buddha's endless wisdom and compassion. It indicates continuity as the underlying reality of existence. It is conjectured that it may have evolved from an ancient naga symbol with two stylized snakes.

The image signifies the dramatic interplay and interaction of the opposing forces in the dualistic world of manifestation, leading to their union, and ultimately to harmony in the universe. This fact is amply reflected in the symmetrical and regular form of the endless knot.

The intertwining of lines represents how all phenomena are conjoined and yoked together as a closed cycle of cause and effect. Thus the whole composition is a pattern that is closed on in itself with no gaps, leading to a representational form of great simplicity and fully balanced harmony.

Since all phenomena are interrelated, the placing of the endless knot on a gift or greeting card is understood to establish an auspicious connection between the giver and the recipient. At the same time, the recipient is goaded to righteous karma, being reminded that future positive effects have their roots in the causes of the present. This is because the knot represents a connection, a link with our fates, binding us to our karmic destiny. Not surprisingly, this is one of the most favorite symbols in Tibetan Buddhism, and often occurs on its own.

Other, related interpretations of the endless knot have also been given, such as the following:

The auspicious drawing symbolises the mutual dependence of religious doctrine and secular affairs. Similarly, it represents the union of wisdom and method, the inseparability of emptiness and dependent arising at the time of path, and finally, at the time of enlightenment, the complete union of wisdom and great compassion.

lotus

The lotus (Sanskrit and Tibetan padma) is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols and one of the most poignant representations of Buddhist teaching.

The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies pristinely above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.

Though there are other water plants that bloom above the water, it is only the lotus which, owing to the strength of its stem, regularly rises eight to twelve inches above the surface.

According to the Lalitavistara, "the spirit of the best of men is spotless, like the lotus in the muddy water which does not adhere to it."

According to another scholar, "in esoteric Buddhism, the heart of the beings is like an unopened lotus: when the virtues of the Buddha develop therein, the lotus blossoms; that is why the Buddha sits on a lotus bloom."

The lotus is one of Buddhism's best recognized motifs and appears in all kinds of Buddhist art across all Buddhist cultures. Scrolling lotuses often embellish Buddhist textiles, ceramics and architecture.

The color of the lotus has an important bearing on the symbology associated with it:

· White Lotus (Skt. pundarika; Tib. pad ma dkar po): This represents the state of spiritual perfection and total mental purity (bodhi). It is associated with the White Tara and proclaims her perfect nature, a quality which is reinforced by the color of her body.

· Pink Lotus (Skt. padma; Tib. pad ma dmar po): This the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity. Thus naturally it is associated with the Great Buddha himself.

· Red Lotus (Skt. kamala; Tib: pad ma chu skyes): This signifies the original nature and purity of the heart (hrdya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion and all other qualities of the heart. It is the flower of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.

· Blue Lotus (Skt. utpala; Tib. ut pa la): This is a symbol of the victory of the spirit over the senses, and signifies the wisdom of knowledge. Not surprisingly, it is the preferred flower of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom.

Another symbolic characteristic of the lotus flower leads from the observation that the plant's stalk is easy to bend in two, but is very hard to break because of its many strong sinuous fibers.

In Buddhism the lotus flower symbolizes faithfulness. The golden lotus that is mentioned in Buddhist sutras has two meanings, one is the symbol for the achievement of enlightenment and the other points towards a real flower which is beyond our normal perception.

Chinese poets also use lotus flowers to inspire people to continue striving through difficulties and to show their best part to the outside world, no matter how bad the circumstances may be. This is understood as being just like the lotus flower, bringing beauty and light from the murky darkness at the bottom of the pond.

The sacred Lotus, Nelumbo nucifera, is an extreme important spiritual symbol in Eastern religions. It represents purity, divine wisdom, and the individual's progress from the lowest to the highest state of consciousness.

The lotus represented distancing oneself from vulgarity. It was a metaphor that related to contemporary utopian notions, but was surely connected as well to the Buddhist ideal of "keeping apart from the world, like the lotus."

Apart from pursuing inner cultivation, meditation and deep thought, experiencing muck is also a form of cultivation, for it tests one's ability to endure misfortune and to sacrifice. Only by going to hell and being tempered by fire there, can one rise to religious exaltation and radiate the brightest and most beautiful light.

The lotus was an important icon in ancient Egypt, the inspiration for the Phoenician capitals that preceded the Ionic order of design, the sacred flower of Hindu religions and the object of the principal mantra of Tibetan Buddhism: om mani padme hum, which means "Hail, jewel in the lotus." Given the mechanical efficiency of prayer wheels that symbolically repeat those words without pause, the lotus may be the most frequently invoked plant in the world. In various parts of the world it has been a symbol of fertility, birth, beauty, sunlight, transcendence, sexuality and the resurrection of the dead. A twelfth-century Sanskrit poem extols Brahma, "the lotus of whose navel forms thus our universe." But above all, the lotus represents purity.

What an enchanting paradox, then, that the lotus grows in muddy waters, emerging from them unblemished and untouched by pollution.

The lotus petals were specifically chosen for the heart and wisdom representations (red and blue) are arranged with eight leaves in a circle to represent the Dharma Wheel and the 8-fold path.