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Relief fragment of Mara in Gandhara style, found in Swat Valley The demons of mara. Palm leaf manuscript. Nalanda, Bihar, India Mara's assault on the Buddha (an aniconic representation: the Buddha is only symbolized by his throne), 2nd century, Amaravati Stupa, India Mara, his lustful daughters, and demonic army, attempting to tempt Buddha, on a 10th-century icon from Mogao Caves
Buddhist symbolism is the use of symbols (Sanskrit: pratīka) to represent certain aspects of the Buddha's Dharma (teaching). Early Buddhist symbols which remain important today include the Dharma wheel, the Indian lotus, the three jewels and the Bodhi tree. [1] Buddhism symbolism is intended to represent the key values of the Buddhist faith.
Mahakala statue, holding a flaying knife (kartika) and skullcup (kapala). In Buddhism, wrathful deities or fierce deities are the fierce, wrathful or forceful (Tibetan: trowo, Sanskrit: krodha) forms (or "aspects", "manifestations") of enlightened Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or Devas (divine beings); normally the same figure has other, peaceful, aspects as well.
Great mandala of the Tôji imperial temple in Kyoto. Buddhism includes a wide array of divine beings that are venerated in various ritual and popular contexts. Initially they included mainly Indian figures such as devas, asuras and yakshas, but later came to include other Asian spirits and local gods (like the Burmese nats and the Japanese kami).
The three poisons (Sanskrit: triviṣa; Tibetan: dug gsum) in the Mahayana tradition or the three unwholesome roots (Sanskrit: akuśala-mūla; Pāli: akusala-mūla) in the Theravada tradition are a Buddhist term that refers to the three root kleshas that lead to all negative states.
In Chinese, he is known as Dàfàntiān (大梵天), meaning "Brahma-deva", and Sìmiànshén (四面神), meaning "Four-faced god" as depicted in the Thai tradition. While he is considered to be the creator god in Hinduism, he is not regarded as such in Buddhism, which rejects the notion of any creator deities.
Yamāntaka (meaning 'terminator of Yama i.e. Death') is the wrathful manifestation of Mañjuśrī, popular within the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Other variations upon his traditional form as Mañjuśrī include Namasangiti, Arapacana Manjushri, etc. In Tibetan Buddhism, Mañjuśrī is also an yidam.
The abhayamudra was probably used before the onset of Buddhism as a symbol of good intentions proposing friendship when approaching strangers. In the art of Gandhara, it is present when showing the action of preaching. It was also used in China during the Northern Wei and Sui eras of the 4th and 7th centuries. [citation needed]