Clay, Master Peng Yu
Tea Figurine “Skull I”
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Handcrafted by Master Peng Yu and wood-fired over several days, these figurines might seem repellent at first glance. Nevertheless, they carry deep conceptual and symbolic significance in Buddhist philosophy.
Mindfulness of death permeates the entirety of Buddhist teachings. It lies at the very heart of the doctrine that all phenomena bear the mark of impermanence (anicca).
Entering into a mature relationship with the truth of death means touching the very heart of the Dharma; and just like loving-kindness, equanimity, or mindfulness itself, this is not merely an idea, but a living practice. Mindfulness of death, or maraṇasati meditation, is central to cultivating insight—it is among the most ancient disciplines and, at the same time, one of the most liberating paths of practice.
Decomposing bodies—typically in charnel grounds or other spaces set aside for the dead—were an everyday, visible reality for practitioners during the time of the Buddha. And they remain so today. In many spiritual traditions, ascetics deliberately meditated in cemeteries and among bones—precisely because of the intense, raw energy prevailing there, and for the opportunity to confront face-to-face the deep-seated fear and bewilderment before death that we naturally carry within ourselves.
In his renowned teaching “In the Dead of Night,” Ajahn Chah describes meditating in a burial ground to face his fear directly—not to flee from it, but to pass through it toward clarity.
“Bones bleached white, the color of shells...
Bones heaped up, more than a year old...
Bones rotted and crumbled to dust.”
Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, Middle-length Discourses 10
Specifications
- Category
- Accessories
- Type
- Tea figurines
- Material
- Clay
- Producer
- Master Peng Yu
- Origin
- Nanban City, Sichuan Province
- Locality
- Sichuan
- Packaging
- Basic
Description
Handcrafted by Master Peng Yu and wood-fired over several days, these figurines might seem repellent at first glance. Nevertheless, they carry deep conceptual and symbolic significance in Buddhist philosophy.
Mindfulness of death permeates the entirety of Buddhist teachings. It lies at the very heart of the doctrine that all phenomena bear the mark of impermanence (anicca).
Entering into a mature relationship with the truth of death means touching the very heart of the Dharma; and just like loving-kindness, equanimity, or mindfulness itself, this is not merely an idea, but a living practice. Mindfulness of death, or maraṇasati meditation, is central to cultivating insight—it is among the most ancient disciplines and, at the same time, one of the most liberating paths of practice.
Decomposing bodies—typically in charnel grounds or other spaces set aside for the dead—were an everyday, visible reality for practitioners during the time of the Buddha. And they remain so today. In many spiritual traditions, ascetics deliberately meditated in cemeteries and among bones—precisely because of the intense, raw energy prevailing there, and for the opportunity to confront face-to-face the deep-seated fear and bewilderment before death that we naturally carry within ourselves.
In his renowned teaching “In the Dead of Night,” Ajahn Chah describes meditating in a burial ground to face his fear directly—not to flee from it, but to pass through it toward clarity.
“Bones bleached white, the color of shells...
Bones heaped up, more than a year old...
Bones rotted and crumbled to dust.”
Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, Middle-length Discourses 10