Incorporating Asian iconography

[Toby Stimpson]

Hey all,

I was just sorting through some of my things and came across all these asian statues and tokens I bought down in Chinatown. This sparked a question. What asian symbols have you used or incorporated into your practice?

I'm interested in symbols and their purposes and have tried to collect a sample. Below are some of the symbols I've become quite interested in:

The Hansa hand (or Hand of Fatimah) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamsa)

The Vajra (or Dorje in tibetan), a lightning bolt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajra)

The Nazar, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_eye) or evil eye stone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazar_(amulet)), as found in the Middle east and Greece

and ofcourse the Om symbol.

[Toki Wartooth]

Ooooh, so that's what that hand/eye symbol is! I saw this when I first started exploring my local UU church, and I wasn't sure to which tradition(s) it belonged. I didn't even know the name to look it up! So I thank you for posting so I could finally know. :lol: (Btw, I had seen it on this piece of kinda-decor in the Sanctuary. They had many symbols of various paths going in a circle.)

I myself have a double dorje/vajra on one of my altars, along with my statues of Shiva, Durga, and Ganesh. (I also have a Buddha and the commonly seen frog-on-coins.) My japa mala beads are nearby. I don't usually use (per se) items like my vajra; I suppose I just have it there for what it represents, and the kind of energy I feel it has (with the diamond and lightning images). I occasionally pick it up and contemplate its representation.

My mom's people and culture (Peruvian[s]) also believe in el ojo malo ("the evil/bad eye"), and they use jewelry and such very similar to the Turkish form. (They also use something quite similar but maybe not exactly for the purpose of averting the eye -- these red, sometimes red and black, beads, for general good "fortune," protection, and such.) We have a couple of bracelets with those eye images on them, though we also do things like passing eggs over the body to remove the effects of evil eyes.

Oddly, I have no images of the Om symbol at home. *Blinks* But, I do use the syllable in meditations.

[Toby Stimpson]

Ooooh, so that's what that hand/eye symbol is! I saw this when I first started exploring my local UU church, and I wasn't sure to which tradition(s) it belonged. I didn't even know the name to look it up! So I thank you for posting so I could finally know. :lol: (Btw, I had seen it on this piece of kinda-decor in the Sanctuary. They had many symbols of various paths going in a circle.)

I myself have a double dorje/vajra on one of my altars, along with my statues of Shiva, Durga, and Ganesh. (I also have a Buddha and the commonly seen frog-on-coins.) My japa mala beads are nearby. I don't usually use (per se) items like my vajra; I suppose I just have it there for what it represents, and the kind of energy I feel it has (with the diamond and lightning images). I occasionally pick it up and contemplate its representation.

I love Vajras. I don't really use one in my own spiritual practice, but the meaning they have and their use in Tibetan and Vajrayana Buddhism is so cool. Where I live, there are tons of stores selling different versions of Kartikas and Dorjes. I found a Tibetan axe once, gorgeous.



My mom's people and culture (Peruvian[s]) also believe in el ojo malo ("the evil/bad eye"), and they use jewelry and such very similar to the Turkish form. (They also use something quite similar but maybe not exactly for the purpose of averting the eye -- these red, sometimes red and black, beads, for general good "fortune," protection, and such.) We have a couple of bracelets with those eye images on them, though we also do things like passing eggs over the body to remove the effects of evil eyes.

Thats really fascinating. Yes the evil eye does get around quite a bit, but it makes sense when it's so prevalent around the mediterranean and western asia. I honestly find folk religion to be so interesting and customs and superstitions are a growing interest of mine.