The Tashi Takgyé (བཀྲ་ཤིས་རྟགས་བརྒྱད་) or aṣṭamaṅgala are the eight auspicious signs revered in Buddhist traditions. These symbols are not mere decorations, but profound representations of the Buddha’s supreme enlightenment and qualities. They are associated with different aspects of the Buddha’s body and can manifest as hand implements held by offering goddesses. Regardless of form, they embody noble meanings and virtues to which practitioners aspire.
Jewelled Parasol (རིན་ཆེན་གདུགས་མཆོག་)
This parasol ornamented with precious gems and jewels symbolizes the Buddha’s crown, representing his transcendent wisdom. Just as celestial beings and worldly kings offered ornate parasols to provide shade, this sign evokes the Buddha’s teachings that give protection and shelter from the suffering of cyclic existence. Its multiple adornments signify the many aspects of the Dharma.
Auspicious Golden Fish (བཀྲ་ཤིས་སེར་ཉ་)
The pair of golden fish represents the Buddha’s eyes – one embodying his wisdom realizing ultimate truth, the other his compassionate perception of conventional realities. Their intertwined forms depict the ceaseless flow of enlightened awareness. Associated with life-nurturing waters, they also symbolize the blessings of spiritual rebirth that arise from internalizing the Buddha’s teachings.
Wish-Fulfilling Vase (འདོད་འཇོའི་བུམ་བཟང་)
This overflowing vase signifies the Buddha’s throat, described as an inexhaustible source from which poured forth the profound ocean of his teachings. It represents the boundless treasury of the Dharma that quenches the thirst for genuine understanding and contains both worldly and transcendent riches.
Beautiful Lotus (ཡིད་འོང་ཀ་མ་ལ་)
Unstained by the muddy waters surrounding it, the immaculate lotus is a gesture of the Buddha’s purity – his freedom from all afflictive emotions and biases. Each petal evokes his faultless speech that blossomed as unerring truths and teachings of perfect eloquence. The pristine beauty mirrors the Buddha’s own flawless spiritual realization.
Conch (སྙན་གྲགས་དུང་དཀར་)
The conch shell, spiraling clockwise, represents the Buddha’s profound, melodious and far-reaching voice through which the teachings of the Dharma resound. When Indra requested the Buddha “to turn the wheel of Dharma” and teach, he offered a conch shell which the Buddha then blessed as an auspicious sign. The resonant call of the conch symbolizes the sound of wisdom that awakens beings from the slumber of ignorance. It signifies fearlessness in proclaiming the teachings and the resounding victory of spiritual realization.
Eternal Knot (ཕུན་ཚོགས་དཔལ་བེའུ་)
The endless, intertwining knot is an intricate representation of the Buddha’s sublime heart and mind. Its complex, looping design symbolizes the profound, mystical interdependence and interpenetration of all phenomena in reality. The eternal, unbroken form indicates the immutable, indestructible nature of enlightenment itself – the ultimate and true condition of all things. This emblem evokes the intricate complexity underlying the apparent simplicity of the Buddha’s teachings.
Victory Banner (མི་ནུབ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་)
While outwardly mirroring military banners, the victory banner in Buddhism represents the Buddha’s complete triumph over the four negative forces of anger, attachment, ignorance and pride, along with all other opponents to spiritual awakening. It symbolizes how the positive, virtuous qualities cultivated by practitioners are ultimately victorious over negative afflictions. For the fully enlightened Buddha, it signifies the invincibility of the awakened state over all obstacles.
Wheel of Dharma (དབང་བསྒྱུར་འཁོར་ལོ་)
This auspicious wheel represents the Buddha’s feet, upon which are imprinted the pattern of a thousand-spoked wheel – one of the thirty-two major marks of an enlightened being. When the god Brahma offered this wheel, he requested the Buddha “turn the wheel of Dharma” by teaching. The Buddha blessed it as a potent symbol of his teachings that, like a sovereign’s wheel, lead spiritual followers while subduing negative forces. Just as a Universal Monarch uses a great wheel to lead armies and conquer, so too did the Buddha wield his Dharma teachings to guide disciples and overcome obstacles to enlightenment.
These sacred symbols appear throughout Buddhist cultures, acting as potent reminders of the Buddha’s complete awakening and the profound significance of his teachings for all sentient beings. They inspire practitioners to follow the path revealed by the supreme qualities that the Buddha embodied.
