The Significance of the Drawing of "The Bluest Lake"

Although I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Tibet Through The Red Box, I am particularly struck by and drawn into both the story and the drawing of "The Bluest Lake". The son recalls the story his father has told about an encounter with a beautiful blue lake filled with human faces on the bodies of fish. Immediately thereafter, the father meets a Lama who tells him of the story of the lake named An'n.

I believe that in order to understand the significance of this story and the beautifully haunting drawing of "The Bluest Lake", I have to provide some historical background regarding Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism.

The Chinese/Tibetan people are considered to be descendants of "Dragons". The "Dragon" is a symbol of nobility and power. The "Dragon" represents the element of water -- one of the four elements found in nature, the other three being earth, wind and fire. In the Tibetan language, the word "Zhug" means "Dragon"; and in Tibetan Buddhism, "Zhug" is a religious deity who was thought by the ancient Tibetans to live in the clouds. In Tibetan Buddhism, rivers and lakes are believed to be the homes of the "Dragon Kings" -- and all living things in the rivers and lakes (fish, snakes, frogs, etc.) are considered to be religious deities; the Tibetan people are forbidden to harm them in any way.

In Tibetan Buddhism, water represents cleansing, purification, and baptsim -- the ordination by a religious rite into a spiritual world or community; that spiritual community being a Tibetan Buddhist "Mandala".

The symbol of "Buddha" lives in the center of a Tibetan Buddhist "Mandala". There are eight other smaller Buddha figures which surround the larger symbol of "Buddha" for meditation purposes: four of these Buddhas are male; four of these are female. These figures face the four corners of the Eastern part of the earth (which are in direct inversion to the four corners of the Western part of the earth). These eight figures come together to form a lotus blossom flower -- which is the symbol of the teachings of "Buddha" in the "Mandala". The "Manadala" is oriented to the "East": the "East" is a male-figure meditation Buddha who is named "Aksobhya" who embodies the following requisite qualities of Tibetan Buddhism:

1. The Color "Blue": This is his color -- it represents
calmness, coolness, healing and purity -- all the
qualities necessary for a peaceful ascension into
infinity (the air and the heavens above).

2. The Element "Water": This is his element -- it represents
cleansing, purification, and baptism -- all the religious
fundamentals necessary for the ordination into a spiritual
community or a "Manadala".

3. The Religious Zodiac Sign of "Air": This is his Chinese/
Tibetan symbol -- it represents the religious location of the
of his soul after its spiritual ascension, where it may be
revered after is passage into the spiritual community or
the "Mandala".

4. The Emotion of "Anger" & The Action of "Death":
The emotion he exhibits when he is defiled, disrespected,
or dishonored by a follower is "Anger"; the penance he
extracts for such effrontery is the killing of the soul and the
resulting action of "Death" on the follower.

5. The "Transformation": This is his conversion -- where he
turns his rudimentary anger into mirror-like wisdom.

6. "Associated Human Body Part": This is his ears -- which
must be used for hearing as well as listening in order to both
understand and aspire to the "Mandala".

One of the most important ways for Tibetan Buddhists to gain entrance into their spiritual afterlife is through meditation on metaphysical thoughts and pictures -- pictures such as the "Mandala".

In the story of "The Bluest Lake", we are told of a lake which is such beautiful blue that it reflects the surrounding mountain range and the monastery located thereon. The story tells us that the lake was an oracle (a "prophecy") as well as a hallowed burial place. But it is in the visually stunning drawing that we are drawn into both the beauty and the mystery of "The Bluest Lake".

This drawing is a visually stunning yet deceptively peaceful. It is vision of bucolic splendor and embodies the feeling of an ethereal, almost heavenly type of beauty. The skies, the mountains, the land and the lake are all shown in various shades of greens, blue-greens, jade greens and teal greens. The deep blue, clear skies resembled those seen at dusk on a summer evening. The numerous mountain ranges resemble bluish-whitish peaks which seem to rise from the background and appear to ascend towards the heavens. A gentle pale blue and white fog also appears in the background and lends an almost mystical feeling to the drawing. The land masses are dense, lush and verdant and are punctuated only by a small hut (to the far lower left of the drawing); the simple yet majestic blue-green monastery (to the far upper right of the drawing) which seems to rise up to meet the mountains and the sky; the small figure of a man standing at the edge of the water; and the figures of the small caravan of monks and the Lama in the middle far right of the drawing.

Most importantly, at the bottom foreground of the drawing is the clear, deep, brilliant blue of the magnificent lake. The lake seems to have a sea of whitecaps on top of it. That is, until you take a closer look towards the very bottom of the page and you are shocked to learn that these are not whitecaps: they are row-upon-row of blue-patterned human faces -- faces which are all totally different in shape, size, and appearance; some with white, razor-like teeth; all with bright, white, exaggerated eyes; and every single face with bizarre, penetrating, queer facial expressions.

The drawing seems to capture the essence of everything that is put forth in the "Mandala" of the "East Buddha" of Tibetan Buddhism: The color of Blue all around, but especially as it relates to the water in the lake; the element of Water in the lake; the airy, ethereal surrounding, especially the blue airiness of the sky; the emotion of anger and the action of death as seen in the bizarre human faces in the lake; and the transformation from anger into the mirror-like wisdom also found in the human faces in the clear lake. But there is a catch to this oracle and hallowed burial place.

The one notable contradiction that we see -- at least in the first two very long rows of human faces -- is the lack of ears on the faces; the ears which are necessary for hearing and listening in order to and into spirituality. These particular human faces have the necessary and requisite ears replaced with the exaggerated eyes. Does this mean that the lack of ears on the human faces is due to the fact that these souls did not respect, hear, and listen to the story about "The Bluest Lake"? Are these the human faces and souls of those who dared to challenge the legacy of the lake? Are they those who did not adhere to the tenets of Tibetan Buddhism? Can they be both the human faces and souls of good Tibetan Buddhists (those whose faces reside in the lake and are not shown to us in the drawing) as well as those who dared to defy the religiosity and spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism? Are these the "Dragons"? The drawing does not give us the answers to these questions; neither does the actual story -- the story only alludes to the fate of the two, defiant, European traders who did not listen to the Lamas. What can we surmise from the drawing and the story?

I have no answers to these questions. I can only believe that, from all that I have read and from what I have seen, I personally would try to hear, listen to and follow the the warnings of the story told by the Lamas; and I would put faith in the startling images in the drawing. I guess that each of us has to decide for ourselves what are the meanings and significance of the story and its attendant drawing. I lhonestly and truly loved them both.