Museum of natural history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Museum of natural history - Essay Example An enormous component of my fascination with them is their use of sword like items which have great meaning to their culture. My specific choice of swords is the Phurba. Some say that they were in use during the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, over 2500 years ago, particularly in the indigenous communities of Tibet. Others speculate even earlier origins. Padmasambhava is credited with the invention of the phurba. During the struggle against the demons that were fighting the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet, he is said to have pulled out a peg from the tent of a non-believer and, using the peg to nail down evil spirits, consecrated the ground on which the Samye Monastery was established in the eighth century. This simple peg became the Phurba, an important tool of religious practice that is used to this day. The Khadga is known as the fire sword which is paired with phurba. The Bodhisattva Manjursi, who is the embodiment of wisdom, is shown wielding the symbol of enlightenment. The fire is used to destroy the darkness of ignorance by the fiery rays which burst from the end of the sword. Wisdom is the sword that slices away illusion and wisdom is the final symbol of awareness. The first cut of the sword of wisdom is the decisive one, which is the dawn of enlightenment.