Tibetan Buddhist Portable Prayer Box: "Gao"

This is a Tibetan Buddhist portable shrine, called "gao." Gao were used to carrying sacred relics, magical charms, and medicinal herbs, and acted as portable shrines used for protection when traveling or used in the family altar.

This gau can be worn hanging from the neck or from a waist sash or belt. The front panel of the gau is highly decorated with repousse work showing the Eight Auspicious Symbols.


Buddhism a religion in which people follow the teachings of the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) who lived and taught about 2500 years ago. Buddhists do not believe in a personal creator god. Buddhists believe in the Four Noble Truths, including that life is suffering because we are attached to our desires, but that suffering and attachment can be ended by living according to the Noble Eight-fold Path (ex. right thinking, right working, right speaking). The holy book is called the Tripitaka. It contains the teachings of the Buddha. Buddhists believe in rebirth after death (reincarnation). Their goal is to become Enlightened, to achieve Nirvana, and break the cycle of birth and death.
Source:
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