Cultural Practices: Pai Sho - The Tiles
I'm honestly a little embarrassed it took me so long to get to this topic! This time around, credit goes to https://skudpaisho.com/ for creating such clean renders of all the tiles ever featured in the show. Skud Pai Sho is a fansite where you can play different variations of Pai Sho, developed by nearly two decades of fandom! It's a genuinely engaging game site. ^_^
The white lotus tile is by far the most memorable Pai Sho piece in the whole series. Of all the tiles, it has the most detail, symbolism, and cultural depth behind it:
The lotus flower represents purity and enlightenment in Indian religions such as Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. This is due to its ability to rise above the filth of its environment, such as a muddy pond.
The white lotus is also the name of an important organization, both in the Avatar world and the real world. The real-life White Lotus was an offshoot Buddhist group best known for opposing foreign rule in China.
Finally, the look of the white lotus tile was likely inspired by the classic design of the one-dot tile in Chinese Mahjong.
Simply referred to as "the wheel tile" by fans, this Pai Sho piece has yet to be given an official name in canon. However, despite this, its design very clearly alludes to Avatar's Hindu and Buddhist inspirations:
The design closely resembles the Wheel of Dharma. The Wheel of Dharma is significant in Indian religions such as Hinduism and especially Buddhism. This version of the wheel with eight spokes has come to be the international symbol for Buddhism, similar to the cross for Christianity and the Star of David for Judaism.
Dharma (धर्म) can be best translated as "moral order and ethical duty". In the context off Buddhism, it refers to the Buddha's teaching.
The wheel imagery comes from the metaphor of "turning the wheel"; the metaphor signifying a great and revolutionary change with universal consequences, brought about by an exceptional human being.
This is why the traditional Indian archetype of an ideal leader is known as the "Wheel Turner" (chakravarti / चक्रवर्तिन्). In the context of Buddhism, this would be Gautama Buddha.
In the context of ATLA, the Wheel of Dharma likely refers to the role of Avatar and its importance to the world. It may also represent the general spirituality of the Air Nomads.
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