Old SymbolsWhere every symbol began

Plate 1 Two fish side by side, mirroring each other

Pair of golden fish

A pair of fish, one of the eight auspicious symbols. They stand for moving freely and without fear through the ocean of suffering.

Buddhist symbols. Also called golden fish, matsya.

Meaning

In Tibetan Buddhism the sea is the world of suffering, the cycle of samsara, and fish swim through the water without drowning. Lama Zopa Rinpoche's translation of his teacher Trijang Dorje Chang's explanation calls them the yellow fish and gives the wish they carry: for oneself and others to go "from happiness to happiness without fear of drowning in the oceans of suffering". The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco reads the two fish as freedom from restraint.

Origin and history

The pair of fish is older than Buddhism. According to the Tibetan Language Institute's guide, it began as an Indian symbol of the two main sacred rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna. The fish are traditionally drawn as carp.

Older readings

The meanings given to each of the eight have varied. In the list of altar objects in Alice Getty's book of 1914, the two gilded fishes are a "symbol of happiness and utility". L. Austine Waddell, in 1895, put the golden fish first in his list of the eight.

See also

Dharmachakra, Bodhi leaf, Triratna, Stupa, Parasol, Treasure vase.

Sources

  1. The Eight Auspicious Symbols, Tibetan Language Institute, quoting Robert Beer, The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs, Golden Fishes
  2. The Eight Auspicious Signs, Lama Zopa Rinpoche (translator), Mandala, Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, no. 2
  3. Eight Auspicious Symbols (gallery text, illustration after Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings), Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
  4. The Eight Auspicious Symbols, Tibetan Monks’ Residency, Office of Cultural Affairs, Salisbury University
  5. The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Alice Getty, with an introduction by J. Deniker, 1914, Clarendon Press, Oxford (Internet Archive)
  6. The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lamaism, L. Austine Waddell, 1895, W. H. Allen, London (Internet Archive, Cornell University Library copy)

Last reviewed September 24, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research

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