Lesson Plan (for teacher)

Coming soon...

Rites and rituals are an essential part of Tibetan religion and reflect its practical side. Not restricted to temples alone, they are performed in a variety of places and circumstances, for a myriad of purposes. Daily ceremonies are conducted in temples, although they are perhaps not so elaborate as those that take place in Hindu temples in India and Nepal. Throughout the year, too, special rituals are performed to propitiate deities, to precipitate rain, to avert hailstorms, diseases, and death, to ensure good harvests, to exorcise demons and evil spirits, and of course to destroy the passions of the mind and, ultimately, the ego. All these practices-whether occult, magical, or shamanistic, require various implements which are as important as the images of the deities in whose service they are employed. Each such object is rich with symbolic meaning and is frequently imbued with magical power and potency. 
 

1. ga'u   (7a)
2. tingsha (7b)
3. phurpa (7c)
4. prayer wheel (7d)
5. prayer flag (7f)
6. mala (7g)
7. mani (7h)
8. dorje (7i)
9. hand bell (7j)
10. butter lamp (7k)

Newark Museum

List of available Tibetan objects (word file)
 

Bibliography
 

• Beer, Robert. The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs. Boston: Sahmbhala, 1999
• Bell, C. Religion of Tibet. Delhi, 1993.
• Fisher, Robert. Art of Tibet. London: Thames and Hudson, 1997.
• Reynolds, Valrae. From the Sacred Realm: Tresures from the Newark Museum. New york: Prestel, 1999.
• Snellgrove, David. Buddhist Himalaya. Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1957.