The Tibet Museum, with its new building in traditional Tibetan architectural style completed two years ago in Lhasa, is now open to take visitors on a journey into the history of Tibet. This article expounds on the ritual implements and sacrificial objects displayed at the museum.

Tibetan Buddhist ritual implements and sacrificial objects come in rich variety.

Many are cast in gold, silver or bronze, while many are made of wood, bone, stone, shells, cloth, silk or brocade.

They constitute an important part of the treasure house that is Tibetan Buddhism.

Dazzling variety

A sutra hall of a monastery in Tibet will feature a variety of various religious arts.

Among them are the sacrificial objects used in the worship of the Triratna (Three Treasures), which are divided into different groups:

Ten sacrificial objects, including minor objects made of cypress branches and flour, decorative objects, victorious umbrellas and sutra streamers.

Musical instruments used in sacrificial ceremonies, such as waist drums, the pipa (a plucked string instrument with a fretted fingerboard), bells, the suona horn and white conch shells.

Sacrificial objects placed on tables, including a water bottle, a monk's hat and a teapot.

Other sacrificial objects including bronze lamps, gold lanterns, decorative objects, treasure wheels, treasure bottles, shin bone horns and alloy bronze daggers.

Investigation shows some of the earliest sacrificial objects came from ancient India.

One example is the alloy bronze dagger, which was a kind of weapon in ancient India but was adopted by Tantric Buddhism in Tibet as a kind of religious object for exorcism.

The shin bone horn dates back to ancient Tibet. Legend has it that a famous Indian hermit woke up in the small hours of the night in his home in a celestial burial ground. Feeling sorry for the dead, he made a flute out of a piece of shin bone that was available there which he played to comfort them.

By the 7th century, with economic development and the flourishing of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan artisans were skilled enough to make their own bronze or alloy dagobas, bronze lamps and sacrificial water cups.

By the mid-8th century, Tubo King Trisong Detsan sent his envoys to Kashmir and India to greet Santideva and Padmasambhava to lecture on the Tantric doctrines of Tibet. Samye Monastery was erected for this purpose.

Sacrificial objects used to pay homage to statues of Buddha at that time included bronze bells, daggers and articles used by sorcerers to dispel hail.

From the 10th to the 13th centuries, Buddhism regained favour among the Tibetans after earlier setbacks.

More than 20 sects appeared, including the Nyingma, Gedain, Gagyu, Sagyua, Xalhu and Gelug Sects.

During this period, monastic architecture and Buddhist arts developed apace, and many kinds of ritual implements were created. The most important was the conch that the Yuan Emperor Kublai Khan bestowed upon Pagba.

Monks' hats, teapots and incense burners, made in the imperial workshops of China, found their way into Sagya, Xalhu and other famous monasteries in Tibet.

The king of the Guge Kingdom, meanwhile, had a long brass horn cast for the ceremony to greet Atisha, who came from India to Tibet to give lectures.

The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) rulers managed to strengthen their hold over Tibet. One of the measures taken was to make large quantities of religious art objects much needed in Tibet. This served to promote the religious art in the region.

Qing Dynasty

Monastic architecture and Buddhist arts reached their apex after the 17th century. Palace-like halls were built and beautiful gardens were created in the grounds of monasteries.

Elegantly carved holy stupas, life-like statues of Buddha, ritual musical instruments, frescoes and painted tangka scrolls adorned the prayer halls of major monasteries.

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the imperial court adopted the worship of Tibetan Buddhism.

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, large numbers of statues of Buddha and ritual musical instruments were brought to the court as tribute.

They can still be seen in the Palace Museum in Beijing today.

The Qing court, in return, made Buddhist ritual objects and presented them to Tibet.

In the Potala Palace and Norbu Lingka (the summer palace of the Dalai Lama), visitors will find porcelain monk-hat pots and china bottles. Most of the ritual musical instruments and sacrificial objects collected by the Tibet Museum belonged to collections in the palaces of various generations of the Dalai Lama.

Different categories

All in all, there are four kinds of ritual instruments among the treasure trove of Tibetan religious artifacts.

Mandalas: In ancient times, Tantric followers often built a clay altar in the shape of a circle or square to keep out invading evil spirits. Standing atop the altar, they invited the Past, Present and Future Buddhas to participate in their ritual work, and drew portraits of these Buddhas on the altar. Gradually, the Mandala came into being.

The Mandala is one of the sacrificial objects extensively used and serves as a place wherein various kinds of Buddhas reside. Offering sacrifice to the Mandala originally meant paying homage to the Buddha, Buddhist doctrine and monks.

The two Mandalas collected by the Tibet Museum fall into the same category: One, a gold piece with a hollow centre, is of five layers composed of auspicious treasures and other patterns; and the other, with a silver base and top, is pieced together with red coral.

Dharma Wheels: Worshipping such wheels is intended to bring everlasting spiritual blessings. Often seen Dharma Wheels include the Wheel with Eight Spokes and the Wheel with 1,000 Spokes.

Similar in outward appearance, in Tibetan Buddhism, they are seen as symbols of objects held in the hands of Songtsan Gambo and the 5th Dalai Lama.

The Five Lotus Petals Buddha Hat: It symbolizes the treasure hat of Five-Wisdom Tathagata, in the shape of five lotus petals, each inlaid with a sword, lotus flower, bronze dagger, treasure wheel, and flames.

Garbala Alms Bowl: This is a religious object used in practising the highest level of yoga. The skull used to make it was usually taken from an eminent deceased monk, in accordance with his will.

The one collected by the Tibet Museum is finely cast, with a gold top and a tripod-like base. The gold lid is adorned with lotus flower petals, and the mouth of the bowl is inlaid with turquoises and other gem stones.

( China Daily June 11, 2002)