Melong

Drubthob Melong Dorje (1243-1303), a lineage holder of the Vima Nyingtik, depicted wearing a mirror hanging from his neck

Melong (Tibetan: མེ་ལོང, Wylie: me long; Sanskrit: ādarśa, darpaṇa) is a Tibetan term that means "mirror", "looking glass". The melong is a polyvalent symbol, divine attribute, and quality of the enlightened mindstream or bodhicitta.

Meaning and significance[]

The mirror is an ancient symbol throughout Indian religions. In Indian iconography it may be understood as a symbol for clarity, wholesome or complete perception, and 'primordial purity' (ka dag) of the mindstream or consciousness. The mirror is often depicted as an accoutrement^[a] of the hagiographical signification of fully realised mahasiddha, dzogchenpa, and mahamudra sadhaka. The mirror may be understood as a quality of the mindstream that denotes perceiving experience as it is without obscuration formed by klesha, etc.

Tantric Buddhism[]

The mirror may be engaged in the advanced Tantric sadhana of the gyulü. As the mirror, so the mind. The mirror as the mind, following Yogacara, reflects quality and form, though it is not directly altered and is 'beyond all attributes and qualities' (nirguna).

In an essay accompanying the curatorial notes of an exhibition for the c. 19th-century xylograph on silk entitled Offerings to Mahakala, which depicts an 'array of ritual offerings'^[b] to the dharmapala Mahakala, Sawyer notes the importance of 'mirror' iconography to the dharmakaya:

The looking glass/mirror (T. me-long, Skt. adarsa), which represents the dharmakaya or Truth Body, having the aspects of purity (a mirror is clear of pollution) and wisdom (a mirror reflects all phenomena without distinction).^[1]

The mirror motif is pervasive throughout Buddhist literature and is important to traditions of Dzogchen. A number of texts use the mirror motif in their title, such as The Mirror of the Heart of Vajrasattva (Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་སེམས་དཔའ་སྙིང་གི་མེ་ལོང, Wylie: rdo rje sems dpa' snying gi me long) which is one of the Seventeen Tantras of the Upadesha.

Akshobhya[]

The mirror is part of the iconography of Akshobhya, one of the Five Tathagatas, who is the embodiment of 'mirror knowledge' (Sanskrit: ādarśa-jñāna; refer pañcajñāna).

Notes[]

^ Accoutrement is herein employed in the sense of its etymon: refer, accoutrement.
^ The 'array of ritual offerings' should be understood to be within the genre of gyan tshok ("host of ornaments") or kangja ("materials for the banquet"). The "banquet" being the ganacakra.

References[]

^ Sawyer, Chad (3 June 1998). "Offerings to Mahakala". Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2009.

Bibliography[]

"Tibetan Buddhist Symbolism". 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
Bentor, Yael (March 1995). "On the symbolism of the mirror in Indo-Tibetan consecration rituals". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 23 (1).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) ISSN 0022-1791 (Print) ISSN 1573-0395 (Online)
Dusan, Pajin (March 1996). "The Mirror and the Source: Hua-yen Philosophy and Chinese Landscape Design". International Review of Chinese Religion & Philosophy. 1: 1–28.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

External links[]

The Mirror - newspaper of the International Dzogchen Community established by Namkhai Norbu

[1] Accoutrement is herein employed in the sense of its etymon: refer, accoutrement.

[2] The 'array of ritual offerings' should be understood to be within the genre of gyan tshok ("host of ornaments") or kangja ("materials for the banquet"). The "banquet" being the ganacakra.

[3] Sawyer, Chad (3 June 1998). "Offerings to Mahakala". Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2009.

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