Eight auspicious symbols

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The eight auspicious symbols (Skt. aṣṭamaṅgala; Tib. བཀྲ་ཤིས་རྟགས་བརྒྱད་, tashi takgyé, Wyl. bkra shis rtags brgyad) are:


The Most Precious Parasol

  • (Skt. sitātapatra; Tib, གདུགས་, Wyl. gdugs)

Protects from suffering, destructive emotions, illness, harm and obstacles.

The Auspicious Golden Fishes

  • (Skt. kanakamatsya; Tib. གསེར་ཉ་, Wyl. gser nya)

They stand for fearlessness, freedom and liberation, as well as happiness, fertility and abundance.

The Wish-fulfilling Vase of Treasure

  • (Skt. nidhighaṭa; Tib. བུམ་པ་, Wyl. bum pa)

An inexhaustible source of long life, wealth, and prosperity, which fulfils all one’s spiritual and material wishes.

The Exquisite Lotus Blossom

  • (Skt. padmakuñjara; Tib, པད་མ་, Wyl. pad ma))

Stands for purity of mind and heart, and transformation, as well as compassion, and all perfect qualities.

The Conch Shell of Far Renown

  • (Skt. śaṅkhavarta; Tib. དུང་དཀར་གཡས་འཁྱིལ་, Wyl. dung dkar g.yas 'khyil)

Symbolizes the far-reaching melodious sound of the spiritual teachings.

The Glorious Endless Knot

  • (Skt. śrīvatsya; Tib. དཔལ་བེའུ་, Wyl. dpal be'u)

The sign of interdependence, of how everything in the universe is interconnected.

The Ever-Flying Banner of Victory

  • (Skt. kundadhvaja; Tib. རྒྱལ་མཚན་,Wyl. rgyal mtshan)

Means victory over all disagreement, disharmony or obstacles, and the attainment of happiness, both temporary and ultimate.

The All-powerful Wheel

  • (Skt. suvarṅacakra; Tib. ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་, Wyl. chos kyi 'khor lo)

Symbolizes the teaching of Buddha, and is the source of spiritual values, wealth, love and liberation.

Further Reading

  • Dagyab Rinpoche, Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995), '1. The Eight Symbols of Good Fortune'.
  • Robert Beer, The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols (Boston: Shambhala, 2003), pages 1-15.

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