The Tibetan manuscript Thod pa'i lo rgyu mentions strange encounters with skulls in ancient India where the particular value of the skull with one, two, three or more sections was mainly communicated in dreams.
In such a way a herdsman gained control over the country and turned into a Bodhisattva with the help of a one-piece skull; the possession of a two-piece skull made a beggar king, a three-piece skull stopped a famine, a four-piece skull turned a sinful man into a practitioner of Dharma and so forth. Description of the skull's features. Inside at the front it should have a sharp ridge like a Garuda's peak or a tiger claw which will enable one to pick up the skull at this point on one finger.
The vein imprints on the surface should be deep and shaped like a "blossoming tree". Much emphasis is laid on the distinction between one's own place and the enemy's place. For this one divides the skull-cup in the middle crosswise, half way from the front to the back, across the line of pearl teeth. On the outside, the frontal line of pearl teeth is considered as the division. On the inside, the division is considered from the supra-oracular plates. The side of the rang sa should be smooth and full of auspicious signs, such as swastikas for attaining realization, a mongoose for increasing the heads, an umbrella for associates, a throne for respect and so forth.
Worm holes, burn marks and the like are considered bad if situated in one's own place and good if they are in the enemy's. The left side of the skull is called the " human side " mi sa , the right side is the " possessions " nor sa. Grags pa rGyal mtshan subdivides each side into many small sections of a finger's length sor. They stand for the owners life force, wealth, magic power, personality and so forth respectively. At the "place of descendants" one may recognize the quality of wives, sons, pupils ect.
In the same manner the enemy's side is examined where all positive marks are of dire consequence for the bearer. The association of Buddhists with charnel grounds is evidently quite ancient. Such meditations were believed to serve as antidotes for attachment to the body or sensual pleasures. The tantric texts that call upon practitioners to perform rituals , such as mandala construction in charnel grounds , or to use the substances derived from charnel grounds in rituals , followed a venerable precedent.
Hence such dreadful images evoking death are also seen as symbols of awakening. As a result, in tantric Buddhist literature and art, imagery evoking death, and skull imagery in particular, is quite pervasive, precisely because it also evokes the awakening toward which the tradition aspires. In rituals of the highest tantric order Yogatantra and Anuttaratantra the skull is filled with alcohol as the " Inner Offering " nang gi mchod , symbolizing the " Five Kinds of Fleshes " sha inga and the " Five Kinds of Nectar " bdud rtsi lnga.
Within this system of Anuttaratantra skull cups are used as well for offering in two seperate vessels " Blood " rakta and " Semen " bdud rtsi to the Protective Deities chos skyong. While strong black tea added with special "Rakta pills" serves as a substitute for "Blood", white alcohol mixed with " Dharma medicine " chos sman transforms into "Semen".
According to the gTer ma of Sangs rgyas gLing pa , a Kapala should be consecrated on an astrologically very auspicious day. Then all sorts of obstacles are removed with smoke and wrathful Mantras and some alcohol is poured out to the " Three Roots " rtsa gsum. The skull needs to be dried and anointed. After that the Kapala is filled with small images of " Three Roots ", with Mantras of deities , of the god of wealth , of protectors ect.
The names of all members of the Guru Lineage are put in as well as personal whishes. Pieces of gold, silver precious stones, medical ingredients such as camphor, nutmeg, sandalwood, musk, consecrated Dharma medicines, ring bsrel of Lamas , different kinds of wheat, fruits, flowers, pieces of tiger - leopard skin, silk as well as an essential text on Mahamudra or rDzogs chen ect.
After an invocation of the Ye shes pa into the Kapala , it is sealed and hidden in a shrine closet, with the rang sa side showing to oneself. If one continues to make proper treatment the Kapala will certainly qualify as a " Whishfulfilling Jewel " yid bzhin nor bu.
In this case the skull turns into a support rten of enlightened motivation, Bodhicitta byan chub sems. Through these rituals the Kapala is turned into a direct object of worship.
In other cults belonging to the classes of Tantra human skulls are used as offering vessels. According to rites on the levels of Kriya and Carya tantra such as an Amitabha and Amitayus offering feast, the skull cup is filled with sweet fruit juices as a symbol for "lifespan, wisdom and merit increasing nectar". Wearing a skull rosary, divine are his three eyes and four faces. Covered with an elephant hide, his excellent eyebrows are split by a vajra.
His hand wields a khatvanga staff, and he is ornamented with a half a hundred garland. Her skull bowl is filled with entrails , blood trickles from her mouth.
She threatens all of the quarters together with the gods , titans, and humans. He is not angry, is pure and competent, and he understands yoga and is perfected in knowledge.
Making pieces of skull five inches long, he should secure them to the crest. This association is rooted in several trends in Mahayana Buddhism. Talking skulls, too, are found in the increasingly bizarre terrain of tantric literature. In the esoteric Tantric tradition , a carefully chosen and prepared skull is much more than a ritual object.
A powerful Yogi will be able to use a consecrated jewel skull for all kinds of visionary and prophetic purposes. He may read in its lines the state of his own inner realization as well as his karmic obstacles with greater clarity than in his palm.
According to an oral instruction given by a Tibetan sNgags pa one can use a skull for prophetic purposes in the following way: The vein imprints inside the skull signify obstacles by which the person whose skull one bears, was affected during his lifetime. Positive marks in the skull demonstrate the qualities of the deceased.
Bone is considered to be alive, therefore the good and bad marks of the deceased will influence also the bearer of the skull and could be of dire consequence to him. A tantric practitioner however will use the karmic power of the skull as a means to enlightenment by mentally transforming the Kapala into his own Mandala. It is an image that unites the ideas of death and awakening.
Passages such as the above clearly highlight the significance of skulls in tantric Buddhist literature and help us to understand their centrality in later tantric Buddhist iconography. They are also very important in tantric Buddhist ritual. In these cases, the skull retains its dual association with awakening and death, and thus can serve as an agent for either one of these potentialities. As you can see this tree is filled with sculls.
They are not human but animal sculls, Anyway most of the animals have to face violent death because they get killed by people. All around the house we have a sculls on trees. People who seldom appear in our place feel scared. Because it remains them impermanence of our human life.
We dont live forever, one day we,ll face the death. In our civilization we have build up illusion that death does,nt exist anymore. We live in illusion what,ll last forever. But does it? Rather grim, but it gets to the point: life is brief and fragile. Celtic culture considered the Head or skull to be the seat of power.
There are some texts that point to the skull as the house of the soul. Archeological findings reveal to us that the Celts tossed skulls into sacred wells as offerings. We can look to the analogy of water and know it carries meanings of cleansing, purification, and fluidity of motion emotions are also a water symbol.
According to that, if skulls symbolize the seat of the soul and power, possibly hurling them into the dark depths of sacred well water points out to intent to cleanse the soul or offer divine clarity and renewal for the soul. Moreover, there are three significant openings recognized in the skull, and three is also a sacred number to the Celts, it signifies a progressive dance between banal and cosmic, ultimately birthing a new direction in perception.
Bull Skull : Famous in Texas and the Western United States, the bull skull tattoos represents a symbol of strength, courage, and agility. The cross-bones can also symbolize poison. This design shows a skull without a lower jaw, and it represents moral deviations. Drug dealers and prostitutes often tattooed these designs to express their business and way of life. Grim Reaper: Perhaps the most straightforward of the skull tattoos, the Grim Reaper skull is adorned with a long scythe and a black robe, and it represents courage, good fortune, and the circle of life.
Sugar Mexican Skull: The Day of the Dead in Mexico is recognized as a popular celebration where families get together to create decorated skulls out of sugar or candy.
These skulls are a symbol of a celebration of life. Rose Skull: Skull with a rose held in its mouth is a trendy tattoo design that symbolizes the duality between life and death. The snake is a symbol of wisdom and secrecy, whereas this design is a symbol of death. Tribal Skull: This bold, geometric skull design is created in memory of those who have passed away , and it can also represent a symbol of ghostly appearances from those who have died.
In Vajrayana Buddhism, the upper cranium of the human skull kapala is used for tantric alchemy in which the impurities of mundane passions—namely, the three poisons of ignorance, greed, and delusion—are exorcised and thereby transformed into forces for good, wisdom, and compassion. It is perhaps the highest expression of the comprehension of the transient nature of the human body and thus of bodily detachment, a necessary step on the path to achieving the clarity of "Diamond Vehicle" Vajrayana enlightenment.
The kapala is employed by virtually all the wrathful deities and is shown brimming with the brain and other sense organs, which must be cut away by the flaying knife to reveal true clarity of mind. In Tibetan paintings, such as the fifteenth-century murals at Gyanste monastery, the Mahasiddhas, the perfected Indian tantric yogis much revered in Tibet, are often depicted drinking from skull cups—a practice in keeping with the use of the kapala by Hindu deities, most notably Shiva Bhairava.
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