Snow Lion: Difference between revisions

The '''Snow Lion''' (sometimes spelled '''snowlion'''; {{bo|t=གངས་སེང་གེ་ |w= gangs seng ge}}; {{zh|t=雪獅}}) is a [[Angel|celestial]] animal of [[Tibet]]. It is the emblem of Tibet, representing the snowy mountain ranges and glaciers of Tibet,<ref name="snow lion">{{citation |url=http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/tibetanSociety/documents/Theearth-oxandthesnowlion.pdf |title=Amdo Tibetans in Transition: Society and Culture in the Post-Mao Era |editor-first=Toni |editor-last=Huber |author-first=Mona |author-last=Schrempf |pages=147–169 |publisher=Brill |year=2002 |isbn=9004125965 }}</ref> and may also symbolize power and strength, and fearlessness and joy, east and the earth element.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://snowliontours.com/welcome/legend_of_the_snowlion |title=Legend of the SnowLion |work= Snow Lion Tour}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://viewonbuddhism.org/symbols_tibet_buddhism.htm |title= Tibetan Buddhist Symbols |work= A view on Buddhism}}</ref> It is one of the [[Shambhala Buddhism#Shambhala Terma|Four Dignities]].<ref name="harderwijk">{{cite web | url = http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/symbols_tibet_buddhism.htm#4 |access-date=19 accessdate =January 2007-01-19 | title = The Four Dignities | work = Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism | publisher = A View on Buddhism | author = Rudy Harderwijk |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041013135658/http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/symbols_tibet_buddhism.htm |archivedate=October 13, 2004 }}</ref> It ranges over the mountains, and is commonly pictured as being white with a [[turquoise]] mane. In [[Journey to the West]] published in 1592, Snow Lion is depicted as one of [[YōkaiYaoguai|monster-spirits]]s.<ref name="呉承恩2014">{{cite book|author=呉承恩 |title=西遊記: Journey to the West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CqMTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT524 |date=25 October 2014 |publisher=Google Publishing |pages=524– |id=GGKEY:641CHU5H2P8}}</ref>

[[Image:Flag of Tibet (1916-1951).svg|thumb|The [[flag of Tibet]], in use in Tibet from 1916 to 1950. It features two Snow Lions amongst other elements and is still used by the [[Tibetan government-in-exile|Tibetan Government-in-Exile]]. Its use is outlawed in the [[People's Republic of China]].]]

[[FileImage:Stamp-tibet-1912-50-greenEmblem of Tibet.jpgsvg|thumb|1912The [[Tibetanemblem stampof Tibet]], withadopted snowlionby 1947.]]

From 1909 until 1959, a single snow lion or a pair of them was used as the national [[emblem of Tibet]] on coins, postage stamps, banknotes and the national flag of Tibet. The version shown on right with two Snow Lions was introduced by the [[13th Dalai Lama]] in 1912 based on old military banners, and is still used by the [[Government of Tibet in exile|Government of Tibet in Exile]].<ref name="snow lion"/> The flag is popularly known as the [[Snow Lion Flag]] (''gangs seng dar cha'').<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qMPyCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA35#v=onepage |title=Oral and Literary Continuities in Modern Tibetan Literature: The Inescapable Nation |author= Lama Jabb |page =35 |publisher=Lexington Books |date=10 June 2015 |isbn=9781498503341 }}</ref>

In Tibetan lore, two Tibetan [[culture hero]]es, [[Epic of King Gesar|Gesar]] and [[Milarepa]], were said to have been raised by snow lioness.<ref name="snow lion"/> The milk of the Snow Lioness (Tibetan: Gangs Sengemo) is reputed to contain special nutrients to heal the body and restore it to harmony. Some holy medicinal remedies are believed to contain the essence of Snow Lioness milk. Her milk is also used to symbolise the [[Dharma]] and its purity, as Milarepa replies to a man seeking to buy the Dharma from him with expensive gifts:

A form of [[lion dance]] found in the Tibetan areas is called the snow lion dance or ''{{lang|bo|Senggeh Garcham}}''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tibetviews.com/?p=2431 |title=Tibetan Snow Lion Dance |archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072554/http://tibetviews.com/?p=2431 |archivedatearchive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=usurped |work=Tibet Views }}</ref> The name ''seng ge'' and its related forms come from [[Sanskrit]] ''siṅha'',<ref name="snow lion"/> and ''[[Cham dance|cham]]'' or ''garcham'' is a Buddhist ritual dance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://itibetan.org/webpage.php?mkt=garcham.txt |title=Garcham |work=itibetan.org }}</ref> The snow lion dance may be performed as a secular dance, or as a ritual dance performed by [[bon|bon po]] monks.<ref name="snow lion">{{citation |url=http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/tibetanSociety/documents/Theearth-oxandthesnowlion.pdf |title=Amdo Tibetans in Transition: Society and Culture in the Post-Mao Era |editor=Toni Huber |author=Mona Schrempf |pages=147–169 |publisher=Brill |year=2002 |isbn=9004125965 }}</ref> This dance may also be found among people in other [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] regions such as the [[Monpa people]] in [[Arunachal Pradesh]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiatravelite.com/discoverindia/tawangfestival.htm |title=Tawang Festival |work=India Travel |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125013331/http://indiatravelite.com/discoverindia/tawangfestival.htm |archive-date=2013-01-25 |df=January 2013 }}</ref> and in [[Sikkim]] where it is called ''[[Singhi Chham]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KeAES9dsUcC&pg=PA76#v=onepage |title=Dances of India |author-first= Shobhna |author-last=Gupta |page=76 |publisher=Har-Anand |date=2007 |isbn=978-8124108666 }}</ref>

The lion was adopted as a symbol of [[Shakyamuni Buddha]] in early Buddhism; it is also depicted as a vehicle for a number of [[Vajrayana]] deities such as [[Vaishravana]] and [[Manjushri]], and the lion throne may be found in many ''[[nirmanakaya]]'' Buddha forms. The lion in India art is represented in Tibetan Buddhist art as the Snow Lion.<ref name="beer 1">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3804Ud9-4IC&pg=PA63#v=onepage |title=The encyclopedia of Tibetan Buddhist symbols and motifs |author-first=Robert |author-last=Beer |author-link=Robert Beer |publisher=Serindia |date=10 September 2003 |pages=63–64 |isbn=978-1932476033 }}</ref> The Snow Lion is the protector of Buddha and in paintings and sculpture is usually seen as holding up the Buddha's throne (one on the left and one on the right of the throne.) The throne of a Buddha may also be depicted with eight Snow Lions representing the 8 main [[Bodhisattva]]s of Buddha Shakyamuni.<ref name="harderwijk"/>

The Snow Lion is a [[tulku]] or personification of the primordial playfulness of [[ananda]] "joy, bliss" ({{bo|w=dga'}}), comparable to the western [[unicorn]]. Though paradoxical, the Snow Lion does not fly but their feet never touch the ground; their existence is a playful continuum ({{bo|w=rgyud}}) of leaping from mountain peak to mountain peak. The energetic potency (wisdom or [[shakti]]) of the Snow Lion is expressed in the attribute of the [[gankyil]] or "ananda-wheel" the Snow Lion keep in eternal play. The gankyil is the principal [[wikt:polyvalent|polyvalent]] symbol and teaching tool of all the doctrinal trinities of [[Dzogchen]] and is the energetic signature of the [[trikaya]]. The gankyil is the inner wheel of the [[Dharmacakra]] of the [[Ashtamangala]] path of [[Vajrayana]] [[Buddhism]].

Tibetan dog breeds such as theThe [[Shih Tzu]],<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qdz5dZ5_anMC&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=lion |title=The Complete Shih Tzu | page=10 |author-first=Victor |author-last=Joris |publisher=Howell Book House |date=1994 |isbn=9780876053362 }}</ref> [[Lhasa Apso]], [[Tibetan Kyi Apso]],and [[Tibetan Terrier]], [[Tibetan spaniel]], and [[Tibetan Mastiff]], are also called the Lion DogsDog which may be due to their resemblance to the Snow Lion.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3IvrAAAAMAAJ&dq=Tibetan+Lion+Dog+snow+lion&q=%27lion-dogs |title=The encyclopedia of Tibetan symbols and motifs |author-first=Robert Béer|author-last=Beer |author-link=Robert Beer |publisher=Serindia |date= 1999 |page=80 |isbn=9780906026489 }}</ref> However it is unknown whether the dogs were bred to resemble the Snow Lion or if the artistic depiction of the Snow Lion was influenced by the features of the dogs.

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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050118090937/http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/symbols_tibet_buddhism.htm Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism]