Material: Pure copper, cast, gem-set

Dimensions: 18x27.8 cm

Description:

Origin and story of the Torma

Torma (also transliterated as Dorma or Shizi) is an important ritual object in Tibetan Buddhism (also known as Lamaism). Its name derives from the Tibetan word "gtor-ma," where "gtor" means "to scatter," "to destroy," or "to offer without expecting anything in return." This term reflects the Torma's core ritual function: it is not only used to offer to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and deities, but also symbolizes the distribution of merit to all sentient beings and even the exorcism of evil spirits and demons. It is said that the production and use of the Torma were deeply influenced by the Bon religion (the indigenous religion of Tibet), and later integrated into Buddhist rituals, forming a unique Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Bon, originating thousands of years before Christ, is a primitive shamanic faith of the Tibetan Plateau, emphasizing nature worship and sacrificial rituals. The tolma can be traced back to Bon offerings, such as offerings made with tsampa (barley flour) to appease mountain gods, land gods, or ancestral spirits.

The origins of the tolma can be traced back to craftsmanship, one of the five great sciences in Tibetan history and culture (crafts, medicine, phonology, logic, and inner wisdom). This first field of study encompasses art forms such as sculpture, painting, and architecture. For over 2,000 years of Tibetan history, the tolma has served not only as a religious object but also as a cultural symbol, representing selfless giving and the accumulation of merit. According to Tibetan Buddhist texts, the shape and color of the tolma have specific symbolic meanings: white represents purity and bodhisattvas, red represents the deity or guardian deity, and black, yellow, and other colors are used to ward off evil or to honor specific deities. Large torma are often seen during grand festivals, such as the Tibetan New Year or Buddhist ceremonies, symbolizing cosmic harmony and the benefit of all beings.

Myths and Stories About Torma

Although Torma is not a single mythological protagonist, it plays a key role in Tibetan Buddhist mythology and legends, often interwoven with stories about deities, guardian deities, and ghosts and spirits, embodying themes of offerings, exorcism, and transformation. The following describes several classic stories and myths, many of which are drawn from Tibetan Buddhist tantras (such as the Kalachakra Tantra) and Bon traditions, emphasizing the spiritual power of Torma.

1. **Legends of Offerings to Deities and Guardians: Hayagriva and the Appeasement of Torma**

In Tibetan Buddhist mythology, Torma is often used to offer to wrathful deities, such as Hayagriva (a guardian deity symbolizing wisdom and power). Legend has it that in ancient Tibet, a practitioner practicing Hayagriva encountered obstacles from evil spirits, causing repeated failures in his practice. The Vajra King, in a wrathful form, appears in a dream and instructs the practitioner to make red, cone-shaped tormas from tsampa and ghee, visualize them as the Vajra King's main deity, and scatter them around the mandala. This torma not only provides an offering to the Vajra King but also transforms evil spirits into protectors, symbolizing the "destruction" of past karma to allow for a new life of merit. At the end of the story, after the practitioner scatters the torma, the evil spirits are converted and the land becomes fertile. This story became the origin of the Tibetan Buddhist concept of "suyid torma" (offerings to the main deity), emphasizing the transformative power of torma. In Bon versions of this story, earlier versions of the same tale consider torma offerings to appease mountain spirits (such as Himalayan deities) and avert natural disasters.

2. **Ghostly Stories of Exorcism and Almsgiving: Talma and the Benefits of Hungry Ghosts**

Another mythological allusion comes from the Bardo Thodol (a Tibetan Buddhist guide to the dead), which describes the use of talma in a ritual offering food to the wandering bardo body (the soul after death). According to the legend, a reincarnated lama, having accumulated negative karma through greed and hatred in a previous life, was reduced to a hungry ghost after death, suffering from hunger and thirst. Later disciples, during rituals, created a "surface talma" (a cone-shaped, dyed object) and visualized it as an endless supply of delicious food, scattering it in all directions as alms for the ghosts. The lama's ghost, attracted by the aroma, ate the talma, its karmic obstacles eliminated, and was reborn as a human. This story symbolizes talma's "unrequited offering," originating from Bon religion's worship of ghosts and deities and later integrated into Buddhism, becoming a daily practice. During major festivals, monks create giant tormas, several meters tall, filled with tsampa, ghee, and spices. They are thrown with mantras to dispel plague spirits and pray for good weather.

3. **The Legend of Initiation and Blessing: Guru Padmasambhava and the Protection of the Torma**

Guru Padmasambhava (8th-century Tibetan Buddhist patriarch) is the most famous figure in the Torma myth. According to legend, Guru Padmasambhava used the Torma as a "sit-torma" (temporary offering) to subdue the native Tibetan spirits. According to the myth, while traveling to Tibet, Guru Padmasambha encountered Bon spirits blocking his way, who transformed into ferocious beasts and storms. He then formed the Torma from tsampa, infused it with the Vajrasattva mantra, and threw it toward the spirits. After consuming it, the spirits' evil nature transformed into Dharma protectors, becoming Buddhist worldly protectors such as Mahakala. This story, recorded in the Padmasambhava Biography, emphasizes the blessing power of torma: during initiation ceremonies, the torma is placed on an altar. Upon touching it, disciples receive the deity's blessing, symbolizing their transformation from the ordinary to the divine. Influenced by Bon, this allusion also involves the use of torma in medical techniques, such as dyeing torma to treat illnesses, reflecting the integration of the five great wisdoms.

These myths not only explain the religious function of torma but also reflect the Tibetan philosophy of "offering is charity." Although a material form, torma carries spiritual transformation and is still widely used in Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies as a symbol of boundless compassion.