The Vase of Treasures / The Urn of Wisdom (Bumpa)

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Bumpa: the Urn of Wisdom, meaning of this Buddhist symbol

The treasure vase (Skt. nidhana kumbha; Tib. gter gyi bum pa) is a fat-bellied vase with a short, thin neck, topped with a large jewel.

What is Bumpa?

Its symbolic meaning has almost always been associated with ideas of storage and the satisfaction of material desires. In the sagas and fairy tales of many different cultures, for example, there is the recurring idea of an inexhaustible container.

Physically, the "vase of inexhaustible treasures" is modeled on the traditional Indian clay water pot or kumbha with a flat base, round body, narrow neck and fluted upper edge. Whatever quantity is withdrawn from it, this vessel remains perpetually full.

Vessels of wealth, sealed with precious and sacred substances, are usually placed on altars and mountain passes, or buried at water springs, where their presence is believed to attract wealth and bring harmony to the the environment. In relation to Buddhism, it specifically means the spiritual abundance of the Buddha, a treasure that did not diminish no matter how much he gave.

The The question of the association of these eight symbols with the real physical body of the Buddha remains. An ancient text called the Heap of Good Fortune Sutra (Aryamangalakutanama-mahayanasutra), addressing the Buddha.

Reverance for you with your head like a protective parasol, with eyes like the precious golden fishes(even today a woman with beautiful eyes is known as 'minakshi', which means with fish eyes),

With a neck like a precious and adorned vase of good fortune

With speech as a shell of Dharma which turns right
With an infinite mind with wisdom like the endless knot
With an open tongue like the auspicious pink lotus
With a body that proclaims triumph over the attacking armies of Mara
With feet that walk on the path of dharma like the auspicious wheel

The urn of wisdom, explanation of the symbol

treasure vase

Artistically, these motifs can be represented individually, in twos or fours, or in groups of eight. Designs of these eight symbols adorn all manner of sacred and secular Buddhist objects, such as carved wooden furniture, metalwork, wall panels, carpets, and silk brocades.

They are also often drawn on the ground in sprinkled flour or colored powder to welcome visiting religious dignitaries. Indeed, no Tibetan ceremony, whether religious or secular (e.g. a wedding), is complete without a representation of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism, which are believed to protect the environment and business activity.