The Endless Knot is a symbolic knot used in Tibetan Buddhism.

It is known as Shrivatsa in Sanskrit and Dpal be'u in Tibetan.

Interpretations (quoted):

It is "an ancient symbol representing the interweaving of the Spiritual Path, the flowing of Time and Movement within That Which is Eternal. All existence, it says, is bound by time and change, yet ultimately rests serenely within the Divine, the Eternal, Buddha, the Mind of God."

"Addiction and aversion lead to delusion, which is the ongoing source of all suffering."

Since the knot has no beginning or end it also symbolizes the infinite wisdom of the Buddha.

Drawing an Endless Knot

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Plot the vertices A, B, C, D of square ABCD. Plot E, the midpoint of line segment AB. Plot F, the midpoint of line segment BC. Plot G, the midpoint of line segment CD. Plot H, the midpoint of line segment DA.

Plot I, the midpoint of segment AE. Plot J, the midpoint of EB. Plot K, the midpoint of BF. Plot L, the midpoint of FC. Plot M, the midpoint of CG. Plot N, the midpoint of GD. Plot O, the midpoint of DH. Plot P, the midpoint of HA.

Draw line segment AI. Draw line segment IN but with leaving a gap in its middle. Draw line segment NG. Draw line segment GE but leaving a pair of gaps at 1/4 and 3/4 of the way between G and E. Draw line segment EJ. Draw line segment JM but leaving a gap in its middle. Draw line segment MC. Draw line segment CL. Draw line segment LO but leaving a pair of gaps at 1/4 and 3/4 of the way between L and O. Draw line segment OH. Draw line segment HF but leaving a gap in its middle. Draw line segment FK. Draw line segment KP but leaving a pair of gaps at 1/4 and 3/4 of the way between K and P. Draw line segment PA.

Erase points D and B, and the drawing is done.

Endless knots in other cultures

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Endless knots come as mystic/mythological symbols have developed independently in various cultures. A well known example are the various celtic knots.

See also

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• Gordian knot

External links

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• The Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism - A Study in Spiritual Evolution by Sri Nitin Kumar.
• The Endless Knot
• http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/knotlink.htm#celtic Lots of links about and to celtic knots
• The endless knot at the Knot Atlas -- mathematical characterization using knot theory

Endlosknoten