The Deer of Tibet: Spirits of the Gods
View the crafts and articles associated with deer, including "The Deguang Translators" from the 19th century, housed in New York City’s Rubin Museum. One segment shows the seeker riding a deer to meet the master, featured in "Teachings of Milarepa," also 19th century, held by Wisdom Publications. Another segment depicts deer and yaks in the mountains, part of "The Twelve Danma Goddesses," created in the 19th century and preserved at the Jimei Museum. Additional images include a goddess riding a deer, found in "The Fourth Dazac Living Buddha," from the 19th century, which is also in the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City.
Partial: What is a deer? In his 1375 writings, Ren Da Wa Xunuo Zuozuo (རེད་མདའ་བ་གཞོན་ནུ་བློ་གྲོས་；1349-1412), the 14th-century Tibetan Buddhist master and Tsongkhapa's teacher, portrayed deer as gentle, spiritual animals of the Buddhist world. Two artworks depicting deer in the wilderness are 'Diagram of the Celestial Sphere' by Daheitian (18th century, Huikang Museum) and 'Double Deer Dharma Wheel' (16th century, Rubin Museum of Art in New York).
Deer bear cultural and metaphorical significance that is profoundly rooted in the religious art themes of the greater Himalayan region, serving as a key motif in Buddhist iconography—with at least four stories in the Jataka Tales associated with them. This is exemplified in the quotation: "Horses bring wind and the melodious sound of wind, bodhisattvas wear deer clothing, (...) wrathful deities manifest perfect harmony on donkeys and mules.
In Tibetan, the deer is called "ཤ་བ་" (sha ba) or "ཤྭ་བ་" (shwa ba), and in the Tibetan Buddhist world it symbolizes harmony and gentleness. The graceful animal carries rich imagery and meanings in Tibetan art, whether as a background element in serene Buddha realms, a marker of identity for practitioners, or a key component of religious mythology. "Ren Dawa", 19th century, private collection; "The Double Deer Law Wheel", 17th century, private collection.
The two terms differ in scope and meaning. The latter serves as a broad designation for all animals, deer among them, whereas the former refers specifically to the act of hunting deer and, by extension, to the deer captured in the course of that hunt. In reference to a deer as the object of the hunt, the term sha ba is employed, yet in ancient Tibetan manuscripts from Dunhuang, the form shwa ba appears with greater frequency.
The thirteen Vima Gods (ཝེར་མ་) of the indigenous religion are both subordinate deities of the main deity and personifications of animal powers, guarding the different dwelling places that support the universe. They carry forward the early Tibetan worship of the deer, which was one of the six major clans, the Dong clan (ལྡོང་ or གདོང་). The 13 Vima Gods as a group are often linked to the protective deity of Tonpa Shenrab, founder of Bon, or to the warrior god, King Gesar.
In Pan-East Asian traditional beliefs, a deer holding Lingzhi in its mouth represents longevity and prosperity, and its antlers are commonly believed to collect the essence of Lingzhi. The 19th-century piece "Gesar King and the Thirteen Warlords," from the "Five Bodies Pure Literature Mirror" deer entry, shows a deer and is held in a private collection.
Commonly used terms in the Tibetan language expression style are ཤ་སྡུག་ཁྱི་སྡུག་ (śa śam̐ ch'i śa śam̐) and ཤ་བའི་གླིང་བུ་ (shwa'i gliṅ bu). The first, which comes from the Biography of Milarepa, describes the misery of deer and hunting dogs, while the second also denotes things that imprison the mind. The artwork list comprises "Deer" (Katsushika Hokusai, 19th century), "The Hermit and the Deer" (Ogata Kourin, 17th century), and Maitreya Buddha (15th century, Ruben Museum of Art, New York).
In Tibetan art and drama-literature, the stories from Master Milarepa's retreat period (སྒྲུབ་ལ་གནས་པའི་དུས།) are the standard means for educating the public. You may be familiar with his narrative preceding his entry into the Dharma path (མི་ལུས་མི་གཙང་བའི་དུས།; impure human body), but as seen in 'The rescued deer,' the term 'deer, dog, and hunter suffering' necessarily leads us to its religious allegory.
In one of these tales, Milarepa was meditating in a cave, and the central figures were a mother deer (ཤྭ་མོ།), a hunting dog (ཤ་ཁྱི།), and a hunter (ཁྱི་ར་བ།). Master Milarepa employed the practice of chanting (མགུར།) to guide sentient beings in examining their own lives and eradicating the root of their suffering. The Rubin Museum of Art in New York holds the "Life of Milarepa Thangka," created in the 16th century, while a 19th-century illustration titled "Milarepa in Meditation" features the deer, hunting dog, and hunter from a private collection.
One day, while a master was meditating inside a cave, a dark-hued doe with fearful eyes rushed toward him. Titled 'Educating the Hunter and the Deer,' this work dates to the 16th century and belongs to the Rubin Museum of Art in New York.
The master, aware of the doe’s desperate flight, sang to her for the sake of calming her terror: “【...】ཕྱི་སྣང་བའི་ཡུལ་ལ་བྲོས་བྲོས་ནས།འཁྲུལ་སྣང་མ་རིག་པའི་ནང་ནས་ཐར་དུས་མེད།ཕྱི་ལུས་སེམས་སྤངས་ཀྱིས་མི་སྤོངས་ཀྱིས།འཁྲུལ་སྣང་མ་རིག་སྤོང་བའི་དུས་ལ་བབ།【...】འབྲོས་ན་ནང་གི་སེམས་ཉིད་བྲོས།སེམས་ཉིད་བྱང་ཆུབ་གནས་སུ་བྲོས།གཞན་བྲོས་པས་ཐར་འདོད་འཁྲུལ་པ་ཡིན།སེམས་འཁྲུལ་པ་བཤིག་ལ་འདི་རུ་སྡོད།【…】” "【...】Feeling the world escaping, unable to break free from the ignorant realm; Let go of mundane body and mind, ignorance and illusions will depart【...】Escape and the mind intelligence will follow, escape to the sacred realm of enlightenment; Escape the desires of external objects, if startled by the illusions of the mind, remain here【...】." Upon completion of his singing, her heart was instantly at ease.
In this account, a deer reclined beside the master and licked his robe, prompting a question: why would such a creature, which stands for practitioners, be subject to suffering within the framework of established religious narratives? As the 8th Karmapa Mikyo Dorje ( མི་བསྐྱོད་རྡོ་རྗེ་ ； 1507-1554) stated, "practitioners themselves are vessels for enduring the restless and unsettled mind." The recipients of Milarepa's teachings in this tale seem to embody a profound sense of inclusivity, visible both in his viewpoint and their own self-examination.
Shortly afterwards, a black-tailed red dog, barking angrily, approached the master. "Milariba's Meditation Practice Painting" (19th century) is in the Buryat Historical Museum; "The Eighth Karmapa" (18th century) is in The Norton Simon Museum; and "Milaripa's Life Story in Pictures" (18th century) is in the Rubin Museum of Art in New York.
The master, believing the animal to be a hunter's deer-chasing dog, sang a song to aid it in overcoming its anger: “【...】ཁྱོད་སྣང་བ་གང་བྱུང་དགྲར་ལངས་པས།ཞེ་སྡང་བསམ་ངན་ཡིད་ལ་འཁྲུག།སྡིག་ཅན་ཁྱི་ཡི་ལུས་སུ་སྐྱེས།སྡུག་བསྔལ་ལྟོགས་པའི་ངང་ལ་སྡོད།ཉོན་མོངས་ཟུང་རྔུ་ཞི་དུས་མེད།ནང་རང་སེམས་བཟུང་བས་མི་ཟིན་ན།ཕྱི་གཞན་ལུས་བཟུང་བས་ཅི་ལ་ཕན།འཛིན་ན་རང་སེམས་འཛིན་པའི་དུས་ལ་བབ།སེམས་ཞེ་སྡང་སྤོངས་ལ་འདི་རུ་སྡོད།【…】” "【...】What illusion makes you angry?
The resentment you hold within only breeds confusion. Having been born as a vicious dog, you bear the agony of starvation and endure unending mental distress. If your own wisdom goes unprotected, what purpose lies in safeguarding the ordinary bodies of others? Far better to rein in your own cravings and swiftly cast the bitterness from your heart. Once these words were sung, the hunting hound ceased its furious barking and settled quietly at the master's side. With the deer resting on one flank and the dog on the other, they kept watch over the master as though they were mother and child.
Any hunter, I believe, would show a surprised expression upon seeing their prey and hunting dog get along so well; human desires are even more complex than those of animals. The subsequent dialogue between the master and the hunter Gongbu Doji became a model for later teachings. Among the items are a "Milaripa" shrine statue accompanied by a deer, 19th century, from the collection of John & Karina Stewart; a "Milarepa Teaching the Dharma" Buddhist altar, 18th century, from a private collection; and an "Milariba" shrine, 18th century, also from a private collection.
The hunter told the master that he worked solely to support himself, held no grand aspirations, and bore no obligation to rescue all creatures as the master did.
Human rebirth is widely praised as precious, yet you fail to deserve it. Sin lies with those who bear the shapes of ghosts and demons. You look down on the pains of karma; though you seem to fulfill your cravings in this life, you are actually bound to endless wanting.
Temporarily silencing hunger may be achieved by taking a deer's life, but uprooting the five poisons of karma is what leads to genuine liberation; while one may endlessly battle foes outside oneself, overcoming the enemy within ultimately ensures that no harm remains. 【...】 "Mirajyaba Education Painting," 19th century, housed at the Yonghe Temple. "Milarepa Teaching His Disciples," 19th century, private collection. Following the song, the hunter began to contemplate, yet he remained curious about the master's way of living and what he perceived.
Upon observing the cave’s sparse furnishings and listening to the master’s serene account of the four seasons’ trials and delights in practice, along with his resolute belief in the correct path, the hunter’s reverence for the master grew immense. He made an offering of the deer, the hunting dog, and his bow and arrows to the master, and swore to devote his life to spiritual cultivation and the purification of his wrongdoings. This story, of course, can be seen as a literary vehicle for philosophical concepts.
Through the art of chanting, the masters reshaped ethical commands into aesthetic narratives, and humanity has long turned to beauty as a defense against the deceptions of this world. Even now, when we encounter the stories of ancient philosophers, we continue to be amazed by their "universal resonance" with life.
In Buddhist imagery, the "Pair of Deer Turning the Wheel of Dharma" stands as the principal deer symbol, with the male deer positioned on the right and the female deer on the left. This iconography appears in "The Double Deer Dharma Wheel," a 19th-century work held in a private collection.
According to scholars of Indian religious and cultural history, the paired deer motif appeared in the Shaiva tradition prior to this. Because South Asian religious traditions commonly involve shared sacred spaces among different sects, it is hard to claim Deer Park as exclusively part of the Buddhist system. The image itself is tied to the Buddha's first sermon at Deer Park, an event referred to as the "First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.
In the "Six Longevity Symbols" (ཚེ་རིང་རྣམ་དྲུག་), a classic Tibetan art composition, the deer symbol fuses artistic meanings from East Asia, South Asia, and the Himalayan region. For the Shaiva tradition of Nava Shasana, the deer—as described in earlier writings like the Shiva Purana—denotes a permanent and otherworldly setting for practice, and therefore an image of the deer is needed to increase the sanctity of the practice space. "Double Deer Dharma Wheel", 18th century, private collection.
This image cannot be proven to have a single fixed origin, for it seems to blend diverse styles and cultural traditions. One may view it as merely a beautiful symbol carrying positive associations, or discern more specific religious meanings within the text. The "Six Longevity Scrolls," an 18th-century work collected by Robert and Lois Baylls and the Donald Rubin Collection, contains a story that can take place either in an East Asian mountain forest or a South Asian tree forest, though this space is given a particular name: the Great Bliss Forest (སྐྱིད་ཚལ་ཆེན་པོ་).
Leaning against a thousand-year-old pine tree, a long-lived immortal resides in this place, free from the influence of the five elements through a thousand years of cultivation. Shaped like a spiraling conch shell, this mountain is the diamond mountain blessed by Buddha and the sacred site of Amitabha Buddha. Spring water with eight special qualities flows from it. The image of the long-lived old man appears widely across various Asian regions.
Among these are the ancient Chinese deity Nanji Laojun, the long-lived sages of South Asia, the old man gods revered by northern Asian peoples, and the ancestral figures of the Naxi people. Additionally, by the immortal’s side stand symbolic creatures of longevity, including deer and cranes, representing an enduring life.
An interesting and aesthetically pleasing combination emerges here: in a formal religious reading, the old man symbolizes knowledge and immortality, the rock symbolizes determination and blessings, the spring water symbolizes diligence and nectar, the tree symbolizes self-discipline and liberation from reincarnation, the bird symbolizes generosity and a peaceful heart, and the deer symbolizes patience and practice.
In South Asian tradition, deer are thought to embody wisdom and exceptional concentration (གཏིང་འཛིན་), much like the deer seen in the “Six Longevity Paintings”. These animals are considered immune to external distractions, directing their attention solely toward their own perfection. As a result, many yoga practitioners and Buddhist meditators who follow the “cessation” principle drape deerskin or antelope skin over themselves or use it as a sitting mat. The 19th-century work “Six Longevity Symbols”, originating from the Mongolian region, is held at the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts.
Shavaripa, one of the 84 Mahasiddhas (great accomplished ones), is the practitioner with the closest ties to deer. The sacred is inseparable from deer. Since deer dwell in herds alongside sages, they consistently embody compassion and empathy; accordingly, many kinds of bodhisattvas are frequently seen in robes of deer skin (krishnasara; sometimes also gazelle skin). By engaging in this act, they think they can take in the deer's highest essence and strengthen their own mental focus.
Dating to the 19th century, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York houses Maitreya Bodhisattva, whose figure is draped in a deer-skin robe. Also from the 19th century and held at the same institution, "Red Guanyin" depicts the Bodhisattva wearing a similar deer-skin garment. In the Shelley & Donald Rubin Collection, a 19th-century work titled "Tang Dongjie Cloth" conceals a deer skin cushion below the seat. A private collection likewise holds "The Hot Juba," also from the 19th century, where a deer skin cushion sits beneath the seat cushion as a notable detail.
Savaripa had once been a mountain hunter whose hands were stained by countless killings. Seeking to save him through skillful means, Guanyin Bodhisattva took on the guise of a fellow hunter and came to his side. In their meeting, Guanyin Bodhisattva claimed that a single arrow could bring down a hundred deer—a boast Savaripa naturally refused to believe. The two agreed to settle the matter with a contest the next day. When that day came, Guanyin Bodhisattva called upon her divine power to conjure a herd of deer, and so effortlessly made good on her word, shooting a hundred of them with one arrow.
Having been profoundly impressed, Savaripa requested that the Bodhisattva bestow upon him the art of hunting. Guanyin Bodhisattva agreed, but asked Shawarjab and his wife to refrain from eating meat for one month. Shawarjab accepted this condition in order to become the most skilled hunter. Two works titled "Savaripa" are noted: a 17th-century piece collected at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, and an 18th-century one at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. After a week, the Bodhisattva returned to see how the couple were faring and found they had kept their promises very well.
As the month ended, the Bodhisattva created a mandala in front of the couple. Upon gazing at it, they perceived themselves at its center, encircled by the tormented forms of hell beings. He then taught them the Vajrayana teachings, enabling Savaripa and his wife to conquer their ego and pride. Previously, he had instructed them on the cycle of life and the consequences of karma, urging them to contemplate questions they had never pondered.
Deer imagery in Buddhist art is interpreted in a simple and clear manner, contrasting with the complex interpretations seen for animals like tigers and elephants. This very uniformity, though, grants deer a distinctive position within Buddhist art. Two 19th-century works titled "Savaripa" exist: one in the Potala Palace collection, and another at the American Museum of Natural History. Meanwhile, Shavari, after twelve years of rigorous practice, finally achieved the Great Seal and became an exemplar for Kagyu lineage practitioners in the Tibetan region.
A dancer wearing a deer mask is depicted at Kirimtse Monastery in Chumbi Valley, Tibet, in 1930. In that space, the deer view everything they see as sacred. From the Buddha to bodhisattvas, and from practitioners to Buddhist masters, deer have always listened with humility to the Dharma, which is both transient and eternal. This piece is a translation from Sorang Wangqing's blog.