Snowlions
- the facts
The Snowlion or also Snow Lion is a celestial animal of Tibet. It symbolizes fearlessness, unconditional cheerfulness, east and the earth element. It is one of the Four Dignities. It ranges over the mountains, and is commonly pictured as being white with a turquoise mane.
"The Snow Lion resides in the East and represents
unconditional cheerfulness, a mind free of doubt, clear and precise. It has a
beauty and dignity resulting from a body and mind that are synchronized. The Snow
Lion has a youthful, vibrant energy of goodness and a natural sense of delight.
Sometimes the throne of a Buddha is depicted with eight Snowlions on it, in this
case, they represent the 8 main Bodhisattva-disciples of Buddha Shakyamuni, the
historical Buddha. Associations: main quality is fearlessness, dominance over
mountains, and the earth element."
Roar
The roar of the
Snow Lion embodies the sound of emptiness, courage and truth, and because of this
is often a synonym for the Buddhadharma, the Buddha’s teachings, as it implies
freedom from karma and the challenging call to awakening. It was considered to
be so powerful that just a single roar could cause seven dragons to fall from
the sky.
The Flag
of Tibet
Two snow lions appear on the Flag of Tibet. They represent here
the country's victorious accomplishment of a unified spiritual and secular life.
This is a reference to the Dalai Lama being the head of the Tibetan government
as well as the supreme head of Tibetan Buddhism.
Snow Lioness Milk
In
Tibetan folklore the milk of the Snow Lioness (Tibetan: Gangs Sengemo) contains
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 it's purity, as Milarepa replies to a man
seeking to buy the Dharma from him with expensive gifts:
"I, the snow lioness who stays in snowy solitudes, Have milk which is like the essential nectar. In the absence of golden cups, I would not pour it in an ordinary vessel."
Tibetan
Lion Dog
The Shih Tzu is called the Tibetan Lion Dog after it’s resemblance
to the Snow Lion, however it is unknown whether the dog was bred to resemble the
Snow Lion or if the artistic design was influenced by the features of the dog.
The Shih Tzu has been around for a long time. The Shih Tzu was bred to sit around the palace of the Emperor of China and bark when people or animals approached: this is allegedly to alert people to the presence of unwanted visitors. It is believed that this ornamental breed was created by breeding the Bei-jing gou (Pekingese) with a Tibetan dog breed, the Lhasa Apso. Recent DNA analysis confirms that this is one of the oldest breeds of dog. The Shih Tzu is also known as the Chinese/Tibetan Lion Dog or the Chrysanthemum Dog. It is called the chrysanthemum dog because its face looks very much like the flower. In 1994, the Shih Tzu became the 12th most popular breed of dog in the AKC's 139 breeds with more than 37,000 new individuals.
The
snowlion is an archetypal thoughtform confluence or personification of the primordial
playfullness of joy and bliss, somewhat energetically comparable to the western
unicorn, though without a horn. Though paradoxical, the snowlion does not fly
but their feet never touch the ground; their existence is a playful continuum
of leaping from mountain peak to mountain peak. The energetic potency (wisdom
or shakti) of the snowlion is expressed in the attribute of the gankyil/gakyil
('bliss+whirling' or 'wheel of joy') that the snowlion keep in eternal play. The
gankyil is a vriddhi derivation of the dragon's fiery 'pearl of great price'.
The gakyil is the principal 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 Vajrayana Ashtamangala path of Buddhism.
The official Homepage of the Abominable Snowman Internet Resource Study Group.