AMULETS, THOGCHAGS, GHAUS, GAUS, TSATSA ETC.

[Blue Garuda]

I wonder if other members own any Buddhist amulets or votive offerings etc.

I have a small collection relating to Garuda, part of a larger collection of other deities ,dharmapalas etc. Some bought, some given to me and one or two I don't show as I feel them to be related to secret practice etc.

I tend to refer to a Himalayan solid medallion-type pendant as a thogchag and a hollow one (which is for containing sacred objects, medicines etc) a gau/ghau.

Tsa tsas are often in clay and sometimes created in very large numbers. If for accumulation, perhaps in ngondro, a single wooden board may have 100 moulds in it, into which the clay is wiped.

here's a selection of the Garuda-related ones:

http://bluegaruda.com/2011/10/22/some-garuda-amulets/

I also have a few bronze mirrors, some are for use as a melong/toli in divination and seeking visions:

http://bluegaruda.com/2012/05/31/melong ... n-mirrors/

[plwk]

Retro owes me an Ajahn Chah amulet Does anyone know where I can get an Ajahn Brahm's or Dogen's?

[pemachophel]

Back in 1970, my Teachers set me up in a Tibetan antique store in Greenwich Village, NYC. During the three years I operated that store, a treasure-trove of thog-chag, ghau, zi-wo lha-kang, and all sorts of other ehtnographica flowed through that store. (We did not sell rupas, i.e., statues, thangkas, etc. We left that to the late Swami Rudrananda, a.k.a. Rudi.) We sold to the Newark Museum, the NY Natural History Museum, the Chicago Field Museum, and many private collectors, including John Lennon and Patti Smith. Back then, there were still plenty of genuine Tibetan antiques out there. I bought a few good pieces for myself, some of which I sold during hard times, some of which I gave away. Among the pieces I kept are a really nice chod da, a kapala, and a terma phurba (which I bought from the late Nechung Rinpoche). Another, larger terma phurba (which I bought from Mrs. Yuthok and which came with an elaborate authentication letter), I gave to my Teachers and, from that moment, never saw again. I had several tsa-tsa molds, and when there were no customers, I would make Tara tsa-tsa. In the back of the store (where I lived), I had a shrineroom where I mounted 1,008 Tara tsa-tsas. Those were good days.

[Blue Garuda]

Back in 1970, my Teachers set me up in a Tibetan antique store in Greenwich Village, NYC. During the three years I operated that store, a treasure-trove of thog-chag, ghau, zi-wo lha-kang, and all sorts of other ehtnographica flowed through that store. (We did not sell rupas, i.e., statues, thangkas, etc. We left that to the late Swami Rudrananda, a.k.a. Rudi.) We sold to the Newark Museum, the NY Natural History Museum, the Chicago Field Museum, and many private collectors, including John Lennon and Patti Smith. Back then, there were still plenty of genuine Tibetan antiques out there. I bought a few good pieces for myself, some of which I sold during hard times, some of which I gave away. Among the pieces I kept are a really nice chod da, a kapala, and a terma phurba (which I bought from the late Nechung Rinpoche). Another, larger terma phurba (which I bought from Mrs. Yuthok and which came with an elaborate authentication letter), I gave to my Teachers and, from that moment, never saw again. I had several tsa-tsa molds, and when there were no customers, I would make Tara tsa-tsa. In the back of the store (where I lived), I had a shrineroom where I mounted 1,008 Tara tsa-tsas. Those were good days.

That sounds wonderful.

I am 99% sure that most of mine are 'reproductions' albeit that some were sold as antique. I bought them for a price which would be right for a 'reproduction'.

It is easy for a seller on Ebay to sell goods as antiques when they are just modern brass with a fake patina or verdigris.

The origin of 'thogchag' is 'thokcha' I believe - sky iron from meteorites or lightning strikes.

I've just bough this (an incense burner, not a thogchag, so ) as a repro :

[pemachophel]

BTW, the terma phurba I mentioned is made out of meteoric iron. So were the blades of the larger one I gave to my Teachers.

[Blue Garuda]

BTW, the terma phurba I mentioned is made out of meteoric iron. So were the blades of the larger one I gave to my Teachers.

Yes, meteoric iron is much sought after, as is that created through lightning strikes.

Ebay seems to allow modern brass to be described as 'sky iron' , just as they allow any blue stone to be called 'lapis'.

[Nemo]

The irony is all iron is meteor iron. Every atom of it was forged in a dying sun.

You might like this amulet.

[tomamundsen]

The irony is all iron is meteor iron. Every atom of it was forged in a dying sun.

Well that's a little misleading. Of course iron was created by stars. All matter is. It's more of a question of chronology. Did the iron come from a meteorite that landed on earth relatively recently or did the iron come from the Earth's core that exists because it was part of the cosmic dust that clumped together to form our planet?

[Blue Garuda]

The irony is all iron is meteor iron. Every atom of it was forged in a dying sun.

You might like this amulet.

Very nice.

Agate?

Often the carving highlights the circular eye, or tries to look like 'dzi' .

[Blue Garuda]

I think this is KHYUNG KILAYA :

I wear this one a lot.

[lelopa]

this one looks exactly like the bonpo-garudakilaya from a terma....
i am searching for this, or a statue of it since 14 years and couldn't find any

[Blue Garuda]

this one looks exactly like the bonpo-garudakilaya from a terma....
i am searching for this, or a statue of it since 14 years and couldn't find any

Is this one any help? :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tibetan-Buddh ... 709wt_1186

The one I have is the same as several others which pop up occasionally on Ebay. Just search every week or so on 'Garuda Phurba' or 'Garuda Phurpa'.
'Kilaya' is not used much by sellers.

[Jikan]

I received a Thai (or Cambodian?) amulet, made of bronze, from my dad for my last birthday. He purchased it at a state auction. I had intended to post some photos of it at the Dhamma Wheel site, but haven't done so yet. I'd really like to know what on earth it is or signifies, as I can't read Thai or even consistently tell Thai writing from Khmer without checking it.

Any advice?

[Blue Garuda]

I received a Thai (or Cambodian?) amulet, made of bronze, from my dad for my last birthday. He purchased it at a state auction. I had intended to post some photos of it at the Dhamma Wheel site, but haven't done so yet. I'd really like to know what on earth it is or signifies, as I can't read Thai or even consistently tell Thai writing from Khmer without checking it.

Any advice?

I think there is a Thai Amulets page on Facebook.

You could also send pics to a museum.

In the UK the British Museum should have a department which should be able to decipher it.

Also - http://www.meaa.org.uk/ Museum of East Asian Arts

Posting on Dhamma Wheel is definitely worth it.

I can't read it but very often there is the name of a famous monastic on such amulets.

[Jikan]

Great, thank you BG

[lelopa]

this one looks exactly like the bonpo-garudakilaya from a terma....
i am searching for this, or a statue of it since 14 years and couldn't find any

Is this one any help? :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tibetan-Buddh ... 709wt_1186

The one I have is the same as several others which pop up occasionally on Ebay. Just search every week or so on 'Garuda Phurba' or 'Garuda Phurpa'.
'Kilaya' is not used much by sellers.

thanx a lot
in eBay.de it is quite impossible

[Blue Garuda]

thanx a lot
in eBay.de it is quite impossible

I quite often search on ebay.com , the main US site, and frequently find things for sale internationally that do not appear on the UK site, so it is always worth checking the sites of other nations.