The Sound of Compassion

Passing through the village of Rake today, I spotted this dragon cut in relief into a garden hedge. Rather an amazing sight in rural West Sussex. So on the way back, I stopped to photograph it, and found a partial explanation for its presence. The ordinary fairly suburban-looking house is called Tashi Delek.

Tashi Delek is a Tibetan greeting, used for every occasion. Literally the two words mean something like auspicious and fine, but it's generally agreed that a reasonable translation of its intent is 'Blessings and good luck'.

So guessing that the dragon is Tibetan, one of the Four Dignities representing various attitudes of the Bhodisattva or enlightened being. Dragons symbolise communication and when one thunders across the sky, the sound of compassion awakens us from delusion and increases what we sense through hearing. They are said to eat Yetis, which are becoming increasingly rare, and yaks. It has a connection with the element of Water, which may explain why I like them so much. Displaying a dragon banner is said to offer protection from slander and enhance your reputation. I'm guessing the owner of this house is taking no chances ....

We were lucky enough to visit Tibet in 1995, and saw no dragons or yetis, but Tashi Deleks and Yaks were everywhere, both never failing to raise a smile.