| Atisa's Butter Lamp | |
|---|---|
| |
|
Origin |
Atiśa Dīpankara Śrījñāna |
|
Type |
Butter lamp |
|
Effects |
Unifies disparate things. |
|
Downsides |
N/A |
|
Activation |
Lighting |
|
Collected by |
|
|
Section |
TBA |
|
Aisle |
TBA |
|
Shelf |
TBA |
|
Date of Collection |
TBA |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Atiśa Dīpankara Śrījñāna (occasionally spelled Atisha) (982 - 1054) was an Indian Buddhist religious leader and master from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. He was one of the major figures in the spread of 11th-century Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism in Asia and inspired Buddhist thought from Tibet to Sumatra. He is recognised as one of the greatest figures of classical Buddhism.
When Atisa came from India to Tibet, he was asked to give a complete and easily accessible summary of the Buddhist doctrine in order to clarify wrong views, especially those resulting from apparent contradictions across the sutras and their commentaries. He wrote Bodhipathapradīpa (A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment), his most influential work and considered to be his magnum opus. The text reconciles the doctrines of many various Buddhist schools and philosophies, and became the basis for the Lamrim tradition.
In Lamrim tradition, there are three levels of spiritual aspiration, or the motivation of one's religious activity:
- Lesser: Persons of modest motive search for happiness within samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth); their motive is to achieve high rebirth.
- Middling: Persons of medium motive are searching for their own ultimate peace and abandon worldly pleasure.
- Superior: Persons of high motive, who, based on their insight of their own suffering, seek by all means to stop the suffering of all beings.
Effects[]
When lit, this lamp has the ability to unify or reconcile disparate things, such as personality aspects, beliefs, thoughts, sights, tastes, etc. in its proximity.
Usage[]
TBA
Trivia[]
- Atisa also wrote on the contemplations of death , as part of Buddhist tradition to comtemplate on the nature of death and accept it. Among these contemplations are:
- Death is inevitable.
- Death will come, whether or not we are prepared for it.
- Our loved ones cannot keep us from death.
- Of Lamrim's three levels of spiritual aspiration, three members of Warehouse 6 correspond thusly:
- Modest: Son Kosal
- Medium: Vanna Toch
- High: Metrodora Xenia
- This butter lamp is inscribed with the Chinese symbol for longevity, also interpretable as a lotus flower.