Significance of Mirrors in Newari religious courtyards

Mirrors…!!! We see them everywhere, don’t we? The cosmetic shops, boutiques, hair dressers, parlor, living room, everywhere. We kind of get fond of oneself when we are in front of the mirror. Girls can never get enough of taking a glance at oneself whenever they see a mirror nearby. But have you ever visited the traditional courtyards (Baha: Bahi) of Nepal? Well, if you have or if you are lucky enough to be a resident of Nepal, then you must have noticed the mirrors in each of the courtyards you visit. Or have you ever wondered why are they kept there? Are they merely there for taking a glance at oneself whenever you visit there? Or is it signifying something?

The Baha: Bahi have been standing as a glory and a masterpiece of Bajrayana Buddhism. Bajrayana Buddhism seems to have flourished after about 500 years from the Mahaparinivana (demise) of Lord Buddha. The principal Newar Buddhist shrines are called Bahas. The construction of the ancient Bahas was standard: a courtyard made in a square or rectangular space bounded by buildings on all sides. The ground of the courtyard is paved with either stone or bricks. The Bahas usually consist of a chaitya, mandalas and statues. Opposite the entrance of the courtyard is the shrine of the main deity of the Baha. In front of this shrine is found a chaitya and a dharma dhatu mandala which is used in connection with the principal pujas performed within the Baha. Many of the courtyards have an array of such chaityas, mandalas, mounted vajras and statues that have been placed there as offerings.

A typical Newari Baha consisting of a shrine, a chaitya and a vajra mounted on a mandala

And while talking about the mirrors that we see in the courtyards, it does have a philosophical significance. In Buddhism, we believe that the world that we are living in is just a virtual one, the one which is not real at all. We have been clinging on to ones desires and needs. We have been living as if we are going to live forever. But however, we have forgotten that nothing is permanent. Everything that forms tends to degrade sooner or later. A child is born but with each passing year he/she is moving forward towards the end. Some live long while some have shorter life. But sooner or later, it’s coming to an end. This world is not real at all. If it was, then it should have been permanent, never fading, never ending.

Hiranya Varna MahaVihar courtyard

Let’s have a clearer view with the help of an example. Say we own a field with 1000 trees each with delicious ripe mango fruits and someone placed a mirror just next to the field. We see them get doubled. We see 1000 more trees, each with ripened mango fruits. We start to crave for them too. If we start generating cravings for those fruits, we are obvious to get sad. We are obvious to hurt ourselves with those cravings. But when one realizes that a mirror was placed there, we realize that the fruits we are seeing are not real. All the cravings would end. We realize that we have been hurting ourselves with the cravings for the things we couldn’t have.

Similarly, the world we are living in is just like the image of ripened mango fruits on the trees. Whenever we develop cravings towards things or people or anything, we are sure to invite pain for ourselves. We should have the constant realization that the world is impermanent. This is not real. This is just a virtual place. The real world is somewhere beyond. We are here in this virtual world so that we could get closer to the real world. And how can we do that? Do good deeds, value the people around. Have a compassionate heart. Be willing to help others. Realize that whatever you have been claiming as me and mine, they will sooner or later come to an end. So, what is the ego for? We can take nothing with us when we travel through this virtual world in search of the real world. All we can take is the good deeds we have done and the merits we have earned.

 Every mirror that we see in the courtyard speaks the words of wisdom that this world is not real but just a virtual image. Nothing is permanent.