Guru Rinpoche - Samye Ling, Eskdalemuir
N 55° 17.309 W 003° 11.343
30U E 487993 N 6126910
Guru Rinpoche was the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. He is regarded as the second Buddha in Tibet. You see him here in an iconic depiction in one of eight manifestations, Guru Pema Jungne. People are free to walk around the grounds.
Waymark Code: WM9VHP
Location: Southern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/01/2010
Views: 3
Guru Rinpoche was born in old India, now part of Pakistan, in the eighth century. The local king recognised his deity and married him to one of his daughters. Guru Rinpoche was to have many consorts. The Tibetan Emperor was beset by evil mountain deities and invited Guru Rinpoche to deal with them. This he did with Tantric Buddhism and received the Emperor's wife as a consort. Guru Rinpoche went on to establish the first monastery at Samye Gompa.
More at (
visit link)
Visiting this statue will not disturb any worship.
About this statue.
"Guru Rinpoche is seated on a lotus flower in the pond as a reminder of his miraculous birth. Surrounding the top rim of the pond are clay representations of precious jewels that are offerings to Guru Rinpoche. On the sides of the pond are statues of various protective animals. On the north, facing the Stupa, there is a tortoise. On the west side of the pond, there is a red bird. On the east side is a tiger, and on the south side behind Guru Rinpoche there is a light blue metal dragon. These animals are guardians of the four cardinal directions.
At the front of the pond is a statue of young boy, emptying a vase of water into a culvert that runs down into the pond. This represents a story of the Buddha in one of his previous lives. It was a time of great drought and a lake had dried up threatening the lives of the fish who were tossing about in the rapidly diminishing water. The little boy ran to another lake that still had some water and patiently carried vases of water back and forth to the empty lake. Gradually he filled it enough so that the fish would not die. This story illustrates the activity of a bodhisattva.
In his right hand Guru Rinpoche holds a five pronged ritual implement, known as a “vajra”. The skull cup Guru Rinpoche holds in his left hand contains a sacred liquid that bestows long life. On top of the cup is the vase of longevity, symbolic of his immortal existence." from (
visit link)