Facebook question: Why is Lama Tsongkhapa’s Hat Yellow?
Question Series for my Fb Friends:
Why is Lord Tsongkapa’s hat yellow?? In India, the Pandit’s hat was red? What does the hat represent in both red/yellow colors?
Tsem Rinpoche
(I thought I will post questions perhaps daily to help ppl think, learn and research. Let’s use FB for learning.)
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Haha! According to Tsongkhapa’s life story he was so fed up with the Buddhists he saw around that he turned his hat inside out and wore it that way. The traditional hat was red outside and yellow inside. That’s all there is to it.
Wonderful teachings, I have been wondering before what is the difference of colour and did not understand much. I have seen colours such as red, yellow, black but know nothing about it till I read more of Rinpoche’s blog and through this post. Recording to Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the colour of hats are wore following which school or lineage they are from. The Gelugpa order is often called the Yellow Hat sect while the Kagyupa is called the White Hat or Red Hat sect. The hats refer to the elaborate crescent-shaped hats worn by followers during ceremonies. Lord Tsongkhapa told his disciples to wear yellow hats, as explained that this would be an auspicious sign to be able to bring back pure ethical discipline to the monasteries of Tibet.
Well reading all the comments from readers, I could learn more of the hat Tibetan monks wear .
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
Thank you Rinpoche for giving this teaching on Tsongkhapa’s iconography. Since young, I have seen many different forms of Kuan Yin (Buddha of Compassion). I was wondering why they look different but still are the same deity. At that time, no one can really answer my question. I also didn’t know the importance of learning the iconography of a Buddha statue.
I have learned so much about the iconography of Buddhas from Rinpoche’s blog and I can understand now why we have to learn about the iconography. If we don’t know about the iconography, making offering to a Buddha becomes worshipping an idol. If we don’t learn about the iconography of Buddhas, we may reject the practice due to our ignorance. For example, if we learn the iconography of Vajrayogini, we will have doubt why a Buddha is naked and looks wrathful.
Once we learn about the iconography of Buddhas, we will appreciate the manifestation of Buddhas in a certain form. When we share the knowledge we have learned, we can help others to clear their doubts and give them confidence in Buddhism too. When we learn more, we can benefit ourselves and others.
感謝仁波切的教言譲我們深入了解關於宗喀巴大師所佩戴的聖帽的意义。佛法是如此的美妙,甚至一個簡單設計及顔色的帽子,實際上是充滿佛法知識在裡头。
Thank you Rinpoche for teaching and explanation.
I wonder if the colors are purely symbolic or if you could do a scientific study that proved that red means control and subjugation and yellow means increase or growth. I know red is associated with seriousness. I think that has been proven scientifically. I know the yellow on school busses is used because it can be clearly seen with peripheral vision only… I know all light has different wavelengths and different cone receptors in the brain… getting off topic but it’s interesting…
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for the short teaching. I have been praying to Lord Tsongkapa for more than 10 years, but I am ashamed that I do not even know what the yellow hat represents, until today. I only know it represents Gelug lineage and nothing more.
But today, I know the meaning and the embodiment of the yellow hat.
Thank you Rinpoche.
Je Tsongkhapa’s appearance brought a revitalisation of Buddhism and there is no way but up for the buddhist faith during the times of Lama Tsongkhapa. As a peerless scholar and debater he was unmatched by all. His works and his achievements were unparalled. There were already gerat masters then in the other three traditions Nyingma, Kagyu and Sakya and all who knew of Je Tsongkhapa only had the utmost praise and reverence for him.
尊贵的詹仁波切,您好 !
谢谢您那么仔细的分享。这更加让我明白关于那神圣帽子的颜色,形状的意思与代表!
祝您快乐,安康!
Thank you for sharing with us and answering this question. It is interesting to learn how Buddhism had grown via logical debate and the pandits hats are representative of this. The yellow symbolises a Buddhistic renaissance with yellow being a symbol of growth.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thanks for teaching us about Lama Tsongkhapa’s hat.
Dharma is so wonderful , even a simple design hat, is actually full of meanings and have Dharma knowledge in it .
Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing.We are glad to have privilege to understand better into the symbolic aspect of the wardrobe tradition for the lama and for the attained masters.
Through the understanding of such practice . We get to understand more of the Dharma in practice in order for us to gain the little wisdom to satisfy our thirst for more knowledge.
Thank you Rinpoche for your guidance, to make us understand that we still have a lot to learn and we should not be complacent in our quest for Dharma.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this blog post with us. I always think is very important to listen to Rinpiche teaching again and again even we think we know it all but every time when I listen to the teaching I always has different understanding once again thank you Rinpoche for continually sharing the Dharma with us.
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Red the colour of justice, defeat evils; Yellow the colour of law is the teaching.
*Chenrezig
Hello dear Rinpoche,
I would like to share with you a wonderful dream I had a while ago when HH Dalai Lama gave us Cherenzig initiation in Bodhgaya. At the night when HH gave us the intiation i dreamed that i was on a stadium full of people. There there was also HH Dalai Lama, HH Karmapa and many other great Rinpoche’s. HH Karmapa was dressed in lay people cloths, but HH Dalai Lama was dressed in ceremonial cloths and also He was wearing the yellow hat and Tsongkhapa has. HH Karmapa was sitting on my left side and HH Dalai Lama was in front of me so i could see Him very well. I remember also that at one point HH Karmapa started to talk and togheter with HH Dalai Lama and all the other Rinpoche’s will give me and to all of us everything that they can give to us…..that is teachings, initiations, blessings, etc.
The way HH Dalai Lama was dressed in my dream impressed me and now I know what the yellow hat represents. Thank you!!!
This was a wonderful wonderfull dream and I think that they keep their words….I do recieve many teachings from them and from other great people, just like you.
I must tell you that I had another dream with HH Dalai Lama after this one. His holiness was preparing to run away from Tibet and He was wearing a red hat, like the one Khenpo’s wearing.
Another dream I had when it was HH Dalai Lama birthday. At that day i dream that HH was suppose to give some teachings to my school and because of some reasons he couldnt come at that day. Next day i went to the sea side and I recieved a message on whe sea waves from HH but I couldnt remeber what the message was about it. Then I dream Lama Jigme Phuntsok. He was in the middle of a crowd giving teachings. When he saw me he came to me and told me that he know I had a dream about HH Dalai Lama and that He sent me an message via the waves and I forgat it. Lama Phuntsok said to me that he will tell me what those messages were. He said that HH sent me 2 messages…..one message was sent with the waves and the other messages was HH Dalai Lama monk cloths. Of course after i woke up i forgat again what those messages were.
Well I stop now with the drems. I wanted to share them with you because i think somehow were related with this topic.
If you dont want me to do this let me know.
Thank you!
May you live long and happy and healthy life!