Buddhism

Foo Dog



Fu Dogs is Chinese guardian lions. It is ancient sacred dogs of Asia who have traditionally guarded palaces, temples, tombs and homes of the wealthy.

From Han Dynasty, they have traditionally stood in front of several places because people believe they have powerful mythic protective benefits.

They are always created in pairs, male lion is yang and female lion is yin. The male lion is stepping on a ball, representing the world and female lion looks identical with him, but she is stepping on her cub to restrain it, representing cycle of life.

Symbolically, the female fu lion protects those dwelling inside, while the male guards the structure.

Sometimes, the male open his mouth and the female close her mouth. This symbolizes the enunciation of the sacred word "om".

The Chinese Guardian Lions have an annual ring on the head. It looks like a whirlpool. The Guardian Lions which have most annual ring have high position.

The main myth of the Guardian lions comes from the Buddhist founder called Sakyamuni. It is said that he was seen after birth to point to the heavens and the earth while roaring like a lion. Soon after, the lions were adopted as Guardian Lion. Through this tale the lion has become the protector of aharma. Aharma is celebrated by the religion of Buddhism and Hinduism

Symbol

The symbol first belonged to many different cultures before the Nazis adopted it. Many people, not only in this country, but in the entire world, do not know about the meaning of the swastika and that it was not only the symbol of Nazi Germany.

The swastika is an equilateral cross with arms bent at right angles, all in the same direction, usually the right, or clockwise. The swastika is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune and is widely dispersed in both the ancient and modern world. It originally represented the revolving sun, fire, or life. The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit swastika which means, "Conducive to well- being". The swastika was widely utilized in ancient Mesopotamian coinage as well as appearing in early Christian and Byzantium art, where it was known as the gammadion cross. The swastika also appeared in South and Central America, widely used in Mayan art during that time period.

In North America, the swastika was a symbol used by the Navajos. The swastika still continues today to be an extensively used sign in Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. In Buddhism, a swastika represents resignation. In Jainism, it delineates their seventh saint, and the four arms are also used to remind the worshiper of the four possible places of rebirth; the animal or plant world, in Hell, on Earth, or in the spirit world. To Hindus, the swastika with the arms bent to the left is called the sathio or sauvastika, which symbolizes night, magic, purity, and the destructive goddess Kali. In both Hinduism and Jainism, the swastika or sathio is used to mark the opening pages or their account books, thresholds, doors, and offerings.

The swastika was a symbol for the Aryan people, a name which, in Sanskrit means "noble". The Aryans were a group of people who settled in Iran and Northern India. They believed themselves to be a pure race, superior to the other surrounding cultures. When the Germans looked for a symbol, they looked for a symbol which represented the purity which they believed they contained. The Nazis regarded themselves as "Aryans" and tried to steal the accomplishments of these pre-historic people.

In Nazi Germany, the swastika with its arms turned clockwise became the national symbol. In 1910, a poet and nationalist Guido von List suggested that the swastika as a symbol for all anti-Semitic organizations. When the National Socialist Party was formed in 1919, it adopted the ancient symbol, the swastika, giving it the worst meaning possible, destroying the good symbolism which the swastika had held for thousands of years prior.

In 1935, the black swastika on a white circle with a crimson background became the national symbol of Germany. The major difference between the Nazi swastika and the ancient symbol of many different cultures is that the Nazi swastika is at a slant, while the ancient swastika is rested flat.

Today, whenever the ancient symbol is used, it is automatically assumed by most people that it is a Nazi symbol and that the people who use it are Nazis. When the Nazis took the ancient symbol, they erased the good meaning of the swastika, the symbol of purity and of life. The racist people of today further degrade the meaning of the ancient symbol by spray painting the swastika on people houses, cars, and even schools.

The swastika symbolizes so much more than what the Nazis planned. The swastika existed as a symbol of good fortune thousands of years before the Nazis even existed. The symbol is to many cultures an important one, representing their history and beliefs. The Nazis, by taking the swastika, annihilated the significance of the ancient symbol. Today, the swastika is to most people a symbol of evil, a symbol of demise, and a symbol of ruination. It is extremely depressing to find that although the swastika is a symbol of life, and symbol of joy, it has been made a symbol of evil, something the people of the ancient world never intended it to be.

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The swastika, hackenkreuz, gamma cross, gammadion, St. Brigid's cross, or fylfot cross is a symbol found around the world.

"L's" to one who uses the Roman alphabet, in Greek it forms four Gammas ("G's"), in Hebrew it can be seen as four Daleths ("D's"), and among the non-literate people of North America, it corresponded to no letters at all. Thus the ascription of Luck, Light, Love, and Life to the amulet is simply an English mnemonic, although it is prettily reinforced on this card by images of a [|**horseshoe**] (luck), the rising **Sun** (light), **twin hearts** (love), and Earth (life). Finally, not mentioned in the text is the swastika's use as the specific emblem of [|**Ganesha, the Hindu god of good luck**], who is also represented as an [|**elephant**].

The swastika or hackencreuz was not a Nazi symbol originally, but was adopted by them as a "lucky" logo. (Imagine a political party of butchering madmen adopting the four-leaf clover as their symbol!) Some people believe that the swastika has been permanently co-opted or ruined by their brand-logo color scheme of black, white, and red, thus making THEIR swastika a national seal, unlike the non-Nazi swastikas of varied color and form one finds all around the world.

It is a common misconception, almost an urban legend of sorts, to impute directional or positional preference or meaning to the swastika, and to claim that the Nazis "reversed the swastika" or "rotated it backwards" and therefore rendered it "evil." But this idea that directionality is important in the history of swastika usage is demonstrably untrue: counter-balancing (bilaterally symmetrical) arrays of clockwise and counterclockwise swastikas are common in both ancient and modern Indian art. These considerations concerning the left- and right-turning swastika arose after the Nazis adopted the device -- and were part of a failed attempt to salvage at least a part of its former meaning by establishing a "good swastika versus bad swastika" dichotomy. Unfortunately, this swastika purity restoration attempt failed because ancient monuments and steles do not bear the theory out: The swastika appears in both left- and right-turned models in virtually all past cultures with no "deosil" and "widdershins" thought behind the direction, nor with "good" or "evil" concepts attached. Jains and the Hindus revere the swastika as a symbol of a symbol of long life, good health, and good luck, and the special symbol of the Hindu [|**elephant**] headed god [|**Ganesh**].

卍 is the 16th of the 32 Buddhism signs, which is on the chest of Buddha. Some books says that before he became a Buddha, the golden 卍 was already on his chest. Other books says that there are also 5 卍 on his hair and one on his waist. 卍 is a sign but not a word, it means luck. This is why the sign is also on the Buddha’s hand and leg.

This is NOT A Symbol on The Buddha's Chest We Saw

The swastika (Sanskrit svastika, "all is well") is a cross with four arms of equal length, with the ends of each arm bent at a right angle. Sometimes dots are added between each arm. The swastika is an ancient symbol found worldwide, but it is especially common in India. It can be seen in the art of the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Celts, Native Americans, and Persians as well Hindus, Jains and Buddhists. The swastika's Indian name comes the Sanskrit word svasti, meaninggood fortune, luck and well being. In [|Hinduism], the right-hand (clockwise) swastika is a symbol of the sun and the god Vishnu, while the left-hand (counterclockwise) swastika represents Kali and magic. The Buddhist swastika is almost always clockwise, while the swastika adopted by the Nazis (many of whom had occult interests) is counterclockwise. In Buddhism, the swastika signifies auspiciousness and good fortune as well as the [|Buddha's footprints] and the Buddha's heart. The swastika is said to contain the whole mind of the Buddha and can often be found imprinted on the chest, feet or palms of Buddha images. It is also the first of the 65 auspicious symbols on the footprint of the Buddha. The swastika has also often been used to mark the beginning of Buddhist texts. In China and Japan, the Buddhist swastika was seen as a symbol of plurality, eternity, abundance, prosperity and long life. The swastika is used as an auspicious mark on Buddhist temples and is especially common in Korea. It can often be seen on the decorative borders around paintings, altar cloths and banners. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is also used as a clothing decoration.



The Four Heavenly Kings

In the [|Buddhist faith], the **Four Heavenly Kings** are four gods, each of whom watches over one [|cardinal direction] of the world. They are the protectors of the world and fighters of evil, each able to command a legion of supernatural creatures to protect the [|Dharma]. Foo Dogs/Lions
 * [|Sanskrit] romanization || [|Vaiśravaṇa] (Kubera) || [|Virūḍhaka] || [|Dhṛtarāṣṭra] || [|Virūpākṣa] ||
 * Meaning || He who hears everything || He who enlarges || He who maintains the state || He who sees all ||
 * ^  ||^   || Patron of Growth || Watcher of the Lands ||^   ||
 * [|Traditional Chinese] || 多聞天王 || 增長天王 || 持國天王 || 廣目天王 ||
 * ^  || 毗沙門天 || 留博叉天 || 多羅吒天 || 毗琉璃天 ||
 * [|Simplified Chinese] || 多闻天王 || 增长天王 || 持国天王 || 广目天王 ||
 * ^  || 毗沙门天 || 留博叉天 || 多罗吒天 || 毗琉璃天 ||
 * [|Hanyu Pinyin] || **Duō Wén Tiānwáng** || **Zēng Zhǎng Tiānwáng** || **Chí Guó Tiānwáng** || **Guăng Mù Tiānwáng** ||
 * [|hangul] || 다문천왕 || 증장천왕 || 지국천왕 || 광목천왕 ||
 * [|Romanized Korean] || **Damun-cheonwang** || **Jeungjang-cheonwang** || **Jiguk-cheonwang** || **Gwangmok-cheonwang** ||
 * [|kanji] || 多聞天 (毘沙門天) || 増長天 || 持国天 || 広目天 ||
 * ^  ||^   ||^   || 治国天 ||^   ||
 * Color || **Yellow** || **Red** || **Green** || **White** ||
 * [|Symbol] || [|Umbrella] || [|Sword] || [|Pipa] || [|Serpent] ||
 * ^  || [|Mongoose] ||^   ||^   || [|stupa] ||
 * ^  || [|stupa] ||^   ||^   || [|pearl] ||
 * Direction || **North** || **South** || **East** || **West** ||

The lions are always created in pairs, with the male resting his paw upon the ball that presents the world and the female restraining a playful cub that is on its back. They occur in many types of Chinese pottery and in Western imitations
 * Chinese guardian lions**, known as **//Shishi//** ([|Chinese]: 石獅; [|pinyin]: //shíshī//; literally "stone lion") or **Imperial guardian lion**, and often called "Foo Dogs" in the West, are a common representation of the [|lion] in pre-modern China. They have traditionally stood in front of [|Chinese] Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy, from the [|Han Dynasty] ([|206 BC]-[|AD 220]), and were believed to have powerful [|mythic] protective benefits. Pairs of guardian lions are still common decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance, in China and in other places around the world where the Chinese people have immigrated and settled, especially in local [|Chinatowns].