The Gankyil (, ) or "wheel of joy" () is a symbol and ritual tool used in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism. It is composed of three (sometimes two or four) swirling and interconnected blades. The traditional spinning direction is clockwise (right turning), but the counter-clockwise ones are also common.
The gankyil as inner wheel of the dharmachakra is depicted on the Flag of Sikkim, Joseon, and is also depicted on the Flag of Tibet and Emblem of Tibet.
Exegesis
In addition to linking the gankyil with the "wish-fulfilling jewel" (Skt. cintamani), Robert Beer makes the following connections:
The "victory" referred to above is symbolised by the dhvaja or "victory banner".
Wallace (2001: p. 77) identifies the ÃÂnandacakra with the heart of the "cosmic body" of which Mount Meru is the epicentre:
Associated triunes
Ground, path, and fruit
- "ground", "base" ()
- "path", "method" ()
- "fruit", "product" ()
Three humours of traditional Tibetan medicine
Attributes connected with the three humors (Sanskrit: tridoshas, Tibetan: nyi pa gsum):
- Desire (Tibetan: à ½ à ½Âà ½¼à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½Âà ½¦à ¼ âÂÂdod chags) is aligned with the humor Wind (rlung, , Sanskrit: vata - "air and aether constitution")
- Hatred (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½ºà ¼Âà ½¦à ¾¡à ½Âà ¼Âà ¼ zhe sdang) is aligned with the humor Bile (Tripa, mkhris pa, Sanskrit: pitta - "fire and water constitution")
- Ignorance (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½Âà ½²à ¼Âà ½Âà ½´à ½ gti mug) is aligned with the humor Phlegm (Béken bad kan, Sanskrit: kapha - "earth and water constitution").
Study, reflection, and meditation
- Study (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½¼à ½¦à ¼Âà ½Âà ¼ thos + pa)
- Reflection (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½¦à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼ sam+ pa)
- Meditation (Tibetan: à ½¦à ¾Âà ½¼à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼ sgom pa)
These three aspects are the mÃ
«laprajñàof the sÃÂdhanàof the prajñÃÂpÃÂramitÃÂ, the "pÃÂramitàof wisdom". Hence, these three are related to, but distinct from, the PrajñÃÂpÃÂramitàthat denotes a particular cycle of discourse in the Buddhist literature that relates to the doctrinal field (ká¹£etra) of the second turning of the dharmacakra.
Mula dharmas of the path
The Dzogchen teachings focus on three terms:
- View (Tibetan: à ½£à ¾Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼ lta-ba),
- Meditation (Tibetan: à ½¦à ¾Âà ½¼à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼ sgom pa),
- Action (Tibetan: à ½¦à ¾¤à ¾±à ½¼à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼ spyod-pa).
Triratna doctrine
The Triratna, Triple Jewel or Three Gems are triunic are therefore represented by the Gankyil:
- Buddha (Tibetan: à ½¦à ½Âà ½¦à ¼Âà ½¢à ¾Âà ¾±à ½¦à ¼Â, Sangye, Wyl. sangs rgyas)
- Dharma (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½¼à ½¦à ¼Â, Cho; Wyl. chos)
- Sangha (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½Âà ½ºà ¼Âà ½Âà ½´à ½Âà ¼Â, Gendun; Wyl. dge 'dun)
Three Roots
The Three Roots are:
- Guru (Tibetan: à ½Âà ¾³à ¼Âà ½Âà ¼Â, Wyl. bla ma)
- Yidam (Tibetan: à ½¡à ½²à ¼Âà ½Âà ½Âà ¼Â, Wyl. yi dam; Skt. istadevata)
- Dakini (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½Âà ½ à ¼Âà ½ à ½Âà ¾²à ½¼à ¼Âà ½Âà ¼Â, Khandroma; Wyl. mkha 'gro ma )
Three Higher Trainings
The three higher trainings (Tibetan:à ½£à ¾·à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½ à ½²à ¼Âà ½Âà ½¦à ¾³à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½¦à ½´à ½Âà ¼Â, lhagpe labpa sum, or Wyl. bslab pa gsum)
- discipline (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½´à ½£à ¼Âà ½Âà ¾²à ½²à ½Âà ½¦à ¼Âà ½Âà ¾±à ½²à ¼Âà ½Âà ½¦à ¾³à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼Â, Wyl. tshul khrims kyi bslab pa)
- meditation (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½²à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½ºà ¼Âà ½ à ½Âà ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¾±à ½²à ¼Âà ½Âà ½¦à ¾³à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼Â, Wyl. ting nge 'dzin gyi bslab pa)
- wisdom (Tibetan: à ½¤à ½ºà ½¦à ¼Âà ½¢à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¾±à ½²à ¼Âà ½Âà ½¦à ¾³à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼Â, Wyl. shes rab kyi bslab pa )
Three Dharma Seals
The indivisible essence of the Three Dharma Seals (à ½£à ¾Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½Âà ½ à ¼Âà ½¢à ¾Âà ½Âà ½¦à ¼Âà ½Âà ¾±à ½²à ¼Âà ½Âà ¾±à ½Âà ¼Âà ½¢à ¾Âà ¾±à ¼Âà ½Âà ½¦à ½´à ½Âà ¼Â) is embodied and encoded within the Gankyil:
- Impermanence (Tibetan: à ½ à ½Âà ½´à ¼Âà ½Âà ¾±à ½ºà ¼Âà ½Âà ½Âà ½¦à ¼Âà ½Â
à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½²à ¼Âà ½¢à ¾Âà ½Âà ¼Âà ½Â
à ½²à ½Âà ¼Âà ¼Â)
- anatta (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½¼à ½¦à ¼Âà ½¢à ¾£à ½Âà ½¦à ¼Âà ½¦à ¾Âà ½¼à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½²à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½Âà ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½ºà ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¼Â)
- Nirvana (Tibetan: à ½Âà ¾±à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½Âà ¼Âà ½ à ½Âà ½¦à ¼Âà ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½²à ¼Âà ½Âà ½ à ½¼à ¼Âà ¼Â)
Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma
As the inner wheel of the Vajrayana Dharmacakra, the gankyil also represents the syncretic union and embodiment of Gautama Buddha's Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma. The pedagogic upaya doctrine and classification of the "three turnings of the wheel" was first postulated by the Yogacara school.
Trikaya doctrine
The gankyil is the energetic signature of the Trikaya, realised through the transmutation of the obscurations forded by the Three poisons (refer klesha) and therefore in the Bhavachakra the Gankyil is an aniconic depiction of the snake, boar and fowl. Gankyil is to Dharmachakra, as still eye is to cyclone, as Bindu is to Mandala. The Gankyil is the inner wheel of the Vajrayana Dharmacakra (refer Himalayan Ashtamangala).
The Gankyil is symbolic of the Trikaya doctrine of dharmakaya (Tibetan: à ½Âà ½¼à ½¦à ¼Âà ½¦à ¾Âà ½´à ¼Â, Wyl.Chos sku), sambhogakaya (Tibetan:à ½£à ½¼à ½Âà ½¦à ¼Âà ½¦à ¾Âà ½´à ¼ Wyl. longs sku) and nirmanakaya (Tibetan:à ½¦à ¾¤à ¾²à ½´à ½£à ¼Âà ½¦à ¾Âà ½´à ¼ Wyl.sprul sku) and also of the Buddhist understanding of the interdependence of the Three Vajras: of mind, voice and body. The divisions of the teaching of Dzogchen are for the purposes of explanation only; just as the Gankyil divisions are understood to dissolve in the energetic whirl of the Wheel of Joy.
Three cycles of Nyingmapa Dzogchen
The Gankyil also embodies the three cycles of Nyingma Dzogchen codified by MañjuÃ
Ârëmitra:
- Semde [Tibetan:à ½¦à ½ºà ½Âà ½¦à ¼Âà ½¦à ¾¡à ½ºà ¼Â]
- Longdé [Tibetan:à ½Âà ¾³à ½¼à ½Âà ¼Âà ½¦à ¾¡à ½ºà ¼Â]
- Mengagde [Tibetan:à ½Âà ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½Âà ¼Âà ½¦à ¾¡à ½ºà ¼Â]
This classification determined the exposition of the Dzogchen teachings in the subsequent centuries.
Three Spheres
"Three spheres" (Sanskrit: trimandala; Tibetan: à ½ à ½Âà ½¼à ½¢à ¼Âà ½Âà ½¦à ½´à ½Âà ¼Â'khor gsum). The conceptualizations pertaining to:
- subject,
- object, and
- action
Sound, light and rays
The triunic continua of the esoteric Dzogchen doctrine of 'sound, light and rays' (à ½¦à ¾Âà ¾²à ¼Âà ½ à ½¼à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ½ºà ½¢à ¼Âà ½Âà ½¦à ½´à ½Âà ¼ Wylie: sgra 'od zer gsum) is held within the energetic signature of the Gankyil. The doctrine of 'Sound, light and rays' is intimately connected with the Dzogchen teaching of the 'three aspects of the manifestation of energy'. Though thoroughly interpenetrating and ised, 'sound' may be understood to reside at the heart, the 'mind'-wheel; 'light' at the throat, the 'voice'-wheel; and 'rays' at the head, the 'body'-wheel. Some Dzogchen lineages for various purposes, locate 'rays' at the Ah-wheel (for Five Pure Lights pranayama) and 'light' at the Aum-wheel (for rainbow body), and there are other enumerations.
Three lineages of Nyingmapa Dzogchen
The Gankyil also embodies the three tantric lineages as Penor Rinpoche, a Nyingmapa, states: <blockquote> According to the history of the origin of tantras there are three lineages:
- The Lineage of Buddha's Intention, which refers to the teachings of the Truth Body originating from the primordial Buddha Samantabhadra, who is said to have taught tantras to an assembly of completely enlightened beings emanated from the Truth Body itself. Therefore, this level of teaching is considered as being completely beyond the reach of ordinary human beings.
- The Lineage of the Knowledge Holders corresponds to the teachings of the Enjoyment Body originating from Vajrasattva and Vajrapani, whose human lineage begins with Garab Dorje of the ÃÂgyan Dakini land. From him the lineage passed to Manjushrimitra, Shrisimha and then to Guru Rinpoche, Jnanasutra, Vimalamitra and Vairochana who disseminated it in Tibet.
- Lastly, the Human Whispered Lineage corresponds to the teachings of the Emanation Body, originating from the Five Buddha Families. They were passed on to Shrisimha, who transmitted them to Guru Rinpoche, who in giving them to Vimalamitra started the lineage which has continued in Tibet until the present day.
</blockquote>
Three aspects of energy in Dzogchen
The Gankyil also embodies the energy manifested in the three aspects that yield the energetic emergence (Tibetan: à ½¢à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Âà ¾±à ½´à ½Âà ¼ rang byung) of phenomena ( Tibetan: à ½Âà ½¼à ½¦à ¼ Wylie: "chos" Sanskrit: dharmas) and sentient beings (Tibetan: à ½¡à ½²à ½Âà ¼Âà ½Â
à ½Âà ¼ yid can):
- dang (à ½Âà ½Âà ½Âà ½¦à ¼ Wylie: gDangs), this is an infinite and formless level of compassionate energy and reflective capacity, it is "an awareness free from any restrictions and as an energy free from any limits or form."
- rolpa (à ½¢à ½¼à ½£à ¼Âà ½Âà ¼ Wylie: Rol-pa). These are the manifestations which appear to be internal to the individual (such as when a crystal ball seems to reflect something inside itself).
- tsal (à ½¢à ¾©à ½£à ¼ Wylie: rTsal, is "the manifestation of the energy of the individual him or herself, as an apparently 'external' world," though this apparent externality is only just "a manifestation of our own energy, at the level of Tsal." This is explained through the use of a crystal prism which reflects and refracts white light into various other forms of light.
Though not discrete correlates, dang equates to dharmakaya; rolpa to sambhogakaya; and tsal to nirmanakaya.
In Bon
Three Treasures of Yungdrung Bon
In Bon, the gankyil denotes the three principal terma cycles of Yungdrung Bon: the Northern Treasure (), the Central Treasure () and the Southern Treasure (). The Northern Treasure is compiled from texts revealed in Zhangzhung and northern Tibet, the Southern Treasure from texts revealed in Bhutan and southern Tibet, and the Central Treasure from texts revealed in ÃÂ-Tsang near Samye.
The gankyil is the central part of the shang (Tibetan: gchang), a traditional ritual tool and instrument of the Bönpo shaman.
See also
References
Citations
Works cited
- Beer, Robert (2003). The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols. Serindia Publications. Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=-3804Ud9-4IC&dq=dga+khyil&pg=PA209 (accessed: December 7, 2007)
- Besch, {Nils} Florian (2006). Tibetan Medicine Off the Roads: Modernizing the Work of the Amchi in Spiti. Source: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2007/7893/pdf/Diss.onlinefassung.Besch.pdf (accessed: February 11, 2008)
- Günther, Herbert (undated). Three, Two, Five. (accessed: April 30, 2007)
- Ingersoll, Ernest (1928). Dragons and Dragon Lore. http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/ddl/ (accessed: June 12, 2008)\*Kazin, Alfred (1946). The Portable Blake. (Selected and arranged with an introduction by Alfred Kazin.) New York: The Viking Press.
- .
- Nalimov, V. V. (1982). Realms of the Unconscious: The Enchanted Frontier. University Park, PA: ISI Press.
- Penor Rinpoche (undated). The school of Nyingma thought https://web.archive.org/web/20071008152309/http://www.bhutanvisit.com/Buddhism/nyingmapa.html (accessed: June 12, 2008)
- Southworth, Franklink C. (2005? forthcoming). Proto-Dravidian Agriculture. Source: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~fsouth/Proto-DravidianAgriculture.pdf (accessed: February 10, 2008)
- Van Schaik, Sam (2004). Approaching the Great Perfection: Simultaneous and Gradual Methods of Dzogchen Practice in the Longchen Nyingtig. Wisdom Publications. . Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=x0tluwwUgu4C&dq=%22symbolic+transmission%22+dzogchen&pg=PA33 (accessed: February 2, 2008)
- Wayman, Alex (?) A Problem of 'Synonyms' in the Tibetan Language: Bsgom pa and Goms pa. Source: [to be supplied when have more bandwidth] (accessed: February 10, 2008) NB: published in the Journal of the Tibet Society.
External links