340 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 59. 



297. Triratna, or the three jewels, namely, Buddha, the law (dharma), 

 and the congregation (sangha). — Wood, red and black lacquered and 

 gilt. Represented by three columns set on a base. The center cone, 

 which represents Buddha, issues from a lotus flower and in its cir- 

 cumference are set five Buddha figurines of ivory, of which three 

 are seated in the witness position and two in that of meditation. 

 They are probably intended to represent the five mundane (manushi) 

 Buddhas of the present age. Between the petals of the lotus are 

 carved five open lotuses and beneath them five leaves inlaid with pieces 

 of shell and looking glass. The two side columns, which represent 

 the law and the congregation, respectively, are carved in the shape of 

 a closed lotus, flattened on one side, into which is inserted an ivoiw 

 panel, representing Buddha standing in the gift-bestowing attitude. 

 Height, 17 inches; width, 12^ inches. Laos, Further India. (Plate 

 88, Cat. No. 217501, U.S.N.M.) 



298. Triratna. — Wood, lacquered and gilt. Representing Buddha 

 standing in the center, while the two figures on the right and left aro 

 sitting. On the base is an inscription in Pali. Height, 14 inches; 

 width, 7 inches. Laos, Further India. (Plate 89, Cat. No. 217585, 

 U.S.N.M.) 



299. Triratna.- — Terra-cotta relief, finely molded. Buddha seated 

 in the witness position in a niche, formed of a pointed arch resting on 

 columns, an elaborate halo of rays rising above his head. The two 

 smaller figures on his sides sitting in meditation. Height, 2>\ inches; 

 width, 21 inches. Laos, Further India. (Cat. No. 217631 , U.S.N.M.) 



IV. miscellaneous: magic, divination, etc. 



300. Lotus. — Model of wood. The lotus (Nelumbium speciosum) 

 is, as has been said previously (No. 2), the favorite flower of India 

 and invested with much symbolism. Among others, it is the symbol 

 of purity. The lotus upon the lake seems to spring from the body of 

 the waters without contact with the earth, and no matter how muddy 

 the water may be, the lotus preserves its own purity undefiled. Thus 

 Buddha is made to say: "Just as a lotus born in water, bred in water, 

 overcomes water and is not defiled by water, so I, born in the world 

 and bred in the world, have now overcome the world." The wor- 

 shipers of Amitabha, or Amida, in China and Japan believe that each 

 man while living on earth is represented in paradise by a lotus, which 

 flourishes or languishes according to his spiritual condition. The 

 saved dead (by faith in the invocation of Amitabha) are carried to 

 the lake of lotuses where the}? - are reborn with a spiritual body within 

 the calyx of one of the lotuses. According to their merits, the lotus 

 opens sooner or later. Some are imprisoned for thousands of ages 

 within the closed catyx of their lotuses — a kind of painless purgatory. 

 Height, 3£ inches. Kobe, Japan. (Cat. No. 154830, U.S.N.M.) 



