No See Evil Buddha

[mikenz66]

Apparently in a Mon temple in Samut Sakhon
http://www.thaiphotoblogs.com/2011/09/n ... il-buddha/




Mike

[Bonsai Doug]

I believe that is Phra Pidta. I think it means "eye closing."
The meaning of the Phra Pidta is to be indifferent to all external temper and emotions.

[David N. Snyder]

I believe that is Phra Pidta. I think it means "eye closing."
The meaning of the Phra Pidta is to be indifferent to all external temper and emotions.

To me it looks more like aversion (covering the eyes, avoiding) than indifference or equanimity, but maybe it's just a cultural thing, 'lost in translation'.

[daverupa]

Maybe that Buddha is embarrassed by all the ornate carvings surrounding their seat?



I kid, of course. What it does remind me of, however, is an old meditation trick that I can't remember the source of: placing the thumbs in the ears, pinching the mouth closed with the small and ring fingers, pinching the nose closed with the middle fingers, and holding the eyes closed with the forefingers. Very forcibly withdrawn, it seems.

[befriend]

that is a kriya yoga technique from paramhansa yogananda tradition.

[plwk]

Very big belly button....

[alan]

Maybe he is just ashamed at what has become of the teachings in his country.

[Sylvester]

Ooh, just noticed this.

As Bonsai Doug mentions, it is a "Phra Pidta". One does not typically see these represented in buchas/statuary, being more typically made as votive tablets or amulets to be portable.

"Phra Pidta" is a more current Thai name. The archaeological evidence indicate that the older Siamese appellation was Bakawambodi. This is believed to be a corruption of "Phra Gavampati", Gavampati being possibly one of the first 11 Arahants (according to the Pali Vinaya), or one of Ven Sariputta's disciples (according to the Mahasanghika Vinaya).

There's supposed to be an 11th century statue of Gavampati attested from Burma's 11th century, dedicated by King Anawrahta.

As to why it has this peculiar iconographic representation, even Ven Dhammanando could not trace its origins. The Pali tradition credits him with having stopped a tsunami in its tracks, but I can't see how that relates to his eyes being closed.

[mikenz66]

Thanks Sylvester! Fascinating to hear these little historical details...


Mike

[tiltbillings]

http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1T4GGLD_en&q=Phra+Pidta&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1004&bih=499

http://ahaina.wordpress.com/category/phra-pidta/

[Sylvester]

Ooh, tilt, you flagged out the hobby!

Shall I regale with tales of the wonders worked for those who wear their Phra Pidta amulets? Like the chap whose parachute did not open but survived the jump?

Or the Pidta amulet so powerful that the Malaysian police had to seek out its consecrator's help to neutralise the amulet that was helping its wearer escape capture?

This is a very expensive hobby, especially when it involves the Pidtas consecrated by certain brand-name gurus. The transactional price could run into millions of Thai Baht...

[plwk]

Amulet business big bucks....why didn't I think of it....

[tiltbillings]

Ooh, tilt, you flagged out the hobby!.

Your hobby? This is not your site?

[Sylvester]

Ooh, tilt, you flagged out the hobby!.

Your hobby? This is not your site?

Heaven forbid that I should run sites that promote the kamadhatu.

That being said, I do wear an Ajahn Chah medallion every day, even if he had refused to consecrate it. Word has it that the medallions were promptly consigned to the pit by Ajahn Chah when he was presented with them. Not wanting to waste a good thing, the donor retrieved them. Small numbers have been trickling into the market. Just ask for the BE 2518 Phim Niyom, and the Thai dealers will groan about how impossible it is to find.

I won't grow rich from that medallion...

[kirk5a]

This is interesting...

Phra means Monk or amulet and Pidta means close eyed. The image of this person closing its face with his palms is a symbolical image of Maha Thera Sanghajay in Sammabart meditation. In Sammabart meditation one will go into deep absorption, as a result jhanas will appear.

http://www.phrapidta.org/?page_id=31

Anyone heard of "Sammabart meditation"?

More on "Phra Sangkadchai"
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=797

[Sylvester]

From what I can gather from the mangled sales-pitch, the Thai "sammabart" is a corruption of "sammapatti" (attainment). Specifically, the idea that a consecrator would have been on a long retreat in a "sammabart" (making a gift to such a monk highly meritorious) leads me to think that the salesman was thinking of Nirodha Sammapatti.

PS - the Thai predilection for equating Phra Pidta with Sangkachai (Sangkachai = Sang + Kaccayana, where "Sang" is a Skt honorific used commonly in SEAsia meaning "the Venerable") doesn't really have a firm ground. Besides which, if the Thais knew their Sarvastivadin Avadanas, they'll realise that the Ven Kaccayana did not uglify himself on account of the ladies - he did it to avoid another homoerotic episode such as Sorreya's lust for his golden skin.