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Liberation is possible just by looking at an image of the Buddha, called in Tibetan ‘mthong sgrol’ «Liberation [through mere] seeing». Buddhist art is able to transmit blessings, or the inspiration of great masters.
“. . . if you have the inner experience of what the image symbolizes, every time you see a Mahayana painting, a deep positive imprint is placed upon your mind, and you receive transcendental wisdom.
In fact, these paintings are talking to you, beyond words.” Lama Yeshe
Each tsakli set may have any number of cards although some designs, such as Shakyamuni Buddha are more commonly found than than others. Painted by Buddhist monks or lamas, they are normally card or canvas. Tsaklis can be used for: 1) instruction and initiation, 2) for meditation and tsakli-gazing, 3) as substitutes for non-physical or hard-to-get offerings and objects (e.g. flayed demon-skins or precious jewels) for use in rituals or funerals &c, 4) Divination , 5) in portable shrines, and 6) joined together in patterns to form Mandalas.
The Chakra (or Wheel) tsakli is emblematic of the Tathāgata, one meaning is ‘Wheel-Turning King’ -
“The Thus-Come One, the first of the ten epithets of a Buddha, which signifies true suchness. Although the Tathāgata never moves, a Buddha appears to have come and gone in the same way as have past Buddhas.” Link
My father is the intrinsic awareness,
Samantabhadra
My mother is the ultimate sphere of reality,
Samantabhadri
I belong to the non-duality of the
sphere of awareness
My name is the Glorious Lotus Born
I am from the unborn sphere of all phenomena
I consume concepts of duality as my diet
I act in the way of the Buddhas of
the three times
Padmasambhava
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