Endless knot
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The endless knot or eternal knot (Sanskrit: Shrivatsa; Tibetan "Dpal be'u") is a symbolic knot found in Tibet and Mongolia. The motif is used in Tibetan Buddhism, and may also be found in Chinese art as one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols.
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[edit] Interpretations
The endless knot has been described[citation needed] as "an ancient symbol representing the interweaving of the Spiritual Path, the flowing of Time and Movement within That Which is Eternal. All existence, it says, is bound by time and change, yet ultimately rests serenely within the Divine and the Eternal." Various interpretations of the symbol are:
- The inter-twining of wisdom and compassion.
- Interplay and interaction of the opposing forces in the dualistic world of manifestation, leading to their union, and ultimately to harmony in the universe.
- The mutual dependence of religious doctrine and secular affairs.
- The union of wisdom and method.
- The inseparability of emptiness (shunyata) and dependent origination, the underlying reality of existence.
- Symbolic of knot symbolism in linking ancestors and omnipresence and the magical ritual and meta-process of binding (refer etymology of Tantra, Yoga and religion) (see Namkha.)
- Since the knot has no beginning or end it also symbolizes the infinite wisdom of the Buddha. See mystic knot.
[edit] Endless knots in other cultures
Endless knots come as mystic/mythological symbols have developed independently in various cultures. A well-known example is the various Celtic knots.
The interlaced form of the unicursal hexagram of occultism is topologically equivalent to the Buddhist endless knot.[1]
[edit] See also
- Ashtamangala (also known as Eight Auspicious Symbols)
- Celtic knot
- Gordian knot
- Namkha
- Tantra
[edit] External links
- The Endless Knot
- The Endless knot at the Knot Atlas, a mathematical characterization using knot theory
