The statue or rupa in Aryaloka’s foyer has been a bit of a mystery. It was donated to us by Neil Harvey after he had rescued it from a clearance warehouse, and was ritually installed in the foyer on a men’s retreat in the summer of 2019. At the time we did not know which Buddha or Bodhisattva the statue represented, and we assumed it was perhaps a form of Avalokitesvara. Image searches and consults with knowledgeable people provided no clarity. In the summer of 2024 while Suddhayu was staying at Adhisthana in England, he noticed that there was an image hanging in the shrine room at Urgyen House that seemed familiar. Urgyen House is the building in which Bhante Sangharakshita’s rooms are preserved, and serves as a small museum for various artifacts associated with Sangharakshita and the history of Triratna. Upon repeated viewing, Suddhayu recognized the image as having a similar form to Aryaloka’s statue! He then asked the curator of Urgyen House, Mokshapriya, who the image was, and found that it was Amoghapasha. Bhante had likely acquired the image during his years in Kalimpong. The painted image at Urgyen House was in storage for many years; it was repaired, framed and hung when Urgyen House was renovated. The image is displayed on the wall of a small shrine room where private ordinations are sometimes held.
Amoghapasha
Amoghapasha, (unfailing lasso) is an archetype of compassion. The lasso (not represented in this particular form, or rupa) represents an unfailing compassion which liberates all sentient beings from suffering, and brings them into a state of happiness that leads to Nirvana or Enlightenment. There are different views as to whether Amoghapasha is mistaken for Avalokitesvara, or considered a form of Avalokitesvara. It is traditionally said that to see an image or to chant the mantra of Amoghapasha purifies heavy karma-vipaka (the results of past terrible actions) and protects one from descending into the lower realms.
Amoghapasha’s mantra is: OM PADMO USHNISHA VIMALE HUM PHAT
