Inner Asia: The Art of Nepal II: Newar Buddhist Art
Directly west of the Amitabha shrine is another shrine with two images
of Tara, Sita Tara and Brikuti Tara and encompassing three stone pillars.
The pillar in the center holds a peacock, the vahana of Amitabha, while
the left pillar is that of Avalokitesvara and the right pillar is that of
Prajnaparamita. Combined with the Buddha Amitabha in the shrine the three
images make up the Buddha, Dharma (Prajnaparamita) and Sangha (Avalokitesvara)
-- the triple gem of Buddhist refuge (i.e., "I take refuge in the Buddha,
I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha") repeated
three times as the means of re-identifying oneself as a Buddhist.
