Why does Buddha have big ears? Why does Buddha have long earlobes?

In Myanmar, night comes suddenly, and by 6 p.m. it’s already completely dark. Watching the sunset in Shwedagon is a pleasure. Golden pagodas in the rays of the setting sun begin to shine so brightly that it hurts your eyes. Then the sunlight disappears, at first it becomes gray, but then hundreds of lanterns turn on and illuminate the structures of the ancient temple from all sides.

Then Shwedagon is transformed into a completely mystical place.

Many Buddhist believers move to Victory Square and begin to sing prayer chants in chorus. In ancient times, in this square, warriors asked higher powers victory in battles. Now people come here to ask for approval from heaven before any important endeavors in life. Those who are not busy with evening prayer go to the main stupa and light candles and lamps placed around it in several rows.

Time spent in Shwedagon significantly restores strength. Buddhists are very tolerant of foreigners and representatives of other religious views. On the territory of the temple you can enter any room, practice meditation with believers, take photographs, and ask questions. The Burmese take everything calmly, and in general they are very friendly.

Well, it's probably time to think about dinner. Goodbye golden Shwedagon.

Eating in Myanmar for a tourist is not such a simple process as, for example, in Thailand, Vietnam or the Philippines. There are not many establishments that are decent from a European point of view. Mostly local residents they eat right on the streets. In almost all busy areas there are small tables, next to which people sit and eat something.

Fires for cooking are sometimes lit directly on the asphalt, sometimes in barbecues or metal basins - it’s very unusual to see this. Such a Burmese lunch costs 1-2 dollars, but of course we did not dare to experiment like this - which is good for the Burmese, but for the Russian dysentery. As a result, we found some kind of eatery that inspired minimal and sufficient confidence. The choice is small, the food is simple, acceptable, but somehow inexpressive. It’s not that it’s not tasty, it looks like an ordinary Asian one, but alas, it is far from Chinese or Vietnamese culinary masterpieces (we are true admirers of Asian cuisine). Cards are not accepted for payment anywhere, only cash. It is convenient to count money: 1 dollar = 1000 Burmese kyat.

In the morning we continue exploring the city and the remaining attractions. First to the temple with the reclining Buddha, although it would be more correct to say “reclining” Buddha. It is located in the Chautaji Temple (Chaukhtatky). The fifty-five meter tall statue of the reclining Buddha represents him at the moment of preparation for earthly death, when he has achieved nirvana, but it looks as if he is watching a talk show on TV. The most high point statues 15 meters.

Buddha has a suspiciously glamorous appearance - nails on his hands and feet painted bright red, expressive make-up (this is exactly what Buddha looks like in the series shown on Burmese television), but no misconception, Buddha was not a metrosexual.

It’s just that in Buddhism there are 36 bodily signs of a Buddha and 80 minor signs of a Buddha’s body. Any Buddha sculpture should be created taking these features into account. Hence - thin long eyebrows, large eyes with straight long eyelashes, lips “red as a peach”, long graceful fingers - these are all the signs of the Buddha embodied in the sculpture.
And another feature of the statue is that 108 sacred symbols of Buddhism are inscribed on the soles of the feet.

These pictograms were discovered in the footprints of Buddha, left by him, in particular, on the banks of the Namada River in India (of course, not in such a geometric form, these are just symbols). Imitations of Buddha's footprints, which can be seen in some temples and pagodas, are necessarily decorated with these symbols, and in some cases they are inlaid precious stones, which testifies to the highest holiness of these relics.

Although, still the signs of Buddha in different times were understood differently. This is how Buddha was seen by his creators in the past. A very brutal man, he looks like a giant alien cannibal robot from the planet Cybertron.

This is exactly what the original Gautama statue looked like when the British found it in the jungle. At first, they mistook it for a mountain (they forgot about it for more than a hundred years and it was covered with earth and plants). But as a result of the earthquake, the “real man” disappeared and a new, improved version was built to replace him. The Buddha also has long earlobes, although elongated ears are not included in the list of thirty-two signs (laksana). Why? Others may assume that in childhood he did not obey his grandmother and she carried out the educational process with him using ears and lobes. But no, that's not true. Initially, Buddha was depicted with normal ears. Later images - with long ears - came from those peoples whose culture was to pull back and disfigure their ears, supposedly for beauty (Mongoloids, Burmese and Siamese). Unnatural big ears are, as it were, a symbol of omniscience and wisdom and were supposed to mean and resemble the power of the One who knows everything and hears everything, and from whose gracious love and care for all creatures nothing can escape. Alternative opinion- Being a prince, Gautama had to wear heavy earrings that stretched his ears. When he renounced the world to become an ascetic, he rejected heavy earrings, but it was too late and his ears were already unnaturally long.

All the temples are very beautiful, there are a lot of flowers, fruits brought as offerings, and incense smoldering.

Opposite the “reclining Buddha” there is a sitting Buddha (this is a monument, who will plant it? - one of the gentlemen of fortune would be surprised), located in the Nga Tha Ji Paya temple.

Everything related to the image of Buddha is extremely standardized, in fact, the same as in orthodox icon painting. That is, if someone creates a sculpture of Buddha, then he must adhere to the canon. This also applies to body position - only four positions were considered suitable for the image of the Buddha: sitting, standing, in motion and lying down. In a sitting position, there were three other positions in which the legs could be positioned:
- “hero pose” with legs folded, one on top of the other;
- “diamond pose” with legs crossed so that each foot rests on the opposite thigh, feet pointing up
- Western way - a person sits on a chair, both legs hang down.

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There are also Buddha images for each day of the week:

1. Sunday, image standing with his right hand placed on his upper thigh
2. Monday, a statue that stops the fight and overcoming illnesses
3. Tuesday, reclining pose
4. Wednesday morning, Buddha holding an alms bowl;
5: Wednesday, night - solitude in the forest; Buddha accepts a beehive from a monkey and a pot of water from an elephant - Pallaika
6. Thursday Meditating Buddha
7. Friday, sculpture with arms crossed on the chest with a thoughtful look, position of introspection
8. Saturday, figure covered by the serpent king Naga.

In all temples there are always a lot of people - some sit in a deep introspective trance, some pray.

But everyone follows the path one way or another. When people asked the Buddha why and what he taught, the Buddha replied: “I teach because you, like all beings, seek happiness and try to avoid suffering. I teach how things really are." "Buddha" means awakened one. The meaning of this awakening is to get rid of ignorance about the nature of your mind and the causes of suffering. The teachings of Buddhism say that the nature of the mind is the same in all living beings. Therefore, each of them can awaken (in other words, achieve Enlightenment) and become a Buddha.

As I comprehended the basic Buddhist truths, I suddenly realized that I was full of spiritual food and would not give up ordinary, carnal food. An excellent place to satisfy your stomach needs is a small lake in the city center. Around it, a couple of dozen restaurants hospitably await hungry tourists.

The lake is very beautiful, but it is better to come here in September to enjoy the blooming lotuses. By the New Year, the flowering season is almost over; the red buds can be counted on one hand.

There is a floating restaurant here. The entrance fee includes a buffet and show program, so it's best to come here in the evening.

We find a small place with Thai cuisine, have a snack, take a photo with the hares as a souvenir and continue exploring the city.

All that remains is to see the Sule Pagoda and perhaps there is already enough Buddhism. It is located in the city center (In 1880, the British used the pagoda as the center of their urban plan for Yangon) five minutes from the hotel where we stayed.

It is said that it was also built 2,500 years ago and a hair of Buddha is immured in it. According to the Buddhist canon, which describes life and last days Buddha, after his cremation, fragments of his physical remains, now called relics, were divided into eight parts and distributed among neighboring states that had by that time adopted Buddhism. According to tradition, there are 3 types of relics: - physical (hair, bone, tooth); - utilitarian (items that Buddha used during his lifetime, for example, a begging bowl), and memorial - statues and imprints of a stupa.

Sula is an interesting place, but after Shwedagon it looks pretty simple.

We didn't find anything else remarkable in Yangon. Maybe we missed something, but it's time to move on.

Forever yours,

Valery and Gleb.

! For 365 days, multi!
For citizens of the Russian Federation and Ukraine full cost with all fees = 8200 rub..
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- Grandma-grandmother, why do you have such big ears?
- Because I am Buddha, baby!

When you first travel to Buddhist places, it is surprising that the Buddha is often depicted with long earlobes, sometimes even reaching his shoulders.

Why is Buddha depicted with long earlobes?

I know several versions of this image:

1. The founder of Buddhism, Gautama Siddhartha, came from a royal family, in his youth he was a prince and lived in a palace, basking in luxury, until he left his palace and said goodbye to royal life. In the time and place where he grew up, the norm was for men to show their wealth by wearing heavy jewelry made of precious metals and stones in their ears. As a result, the lobes were greatly stretched.
2. The Buddha's earlobes are drawn out by tunnels.
   It seems to me that this version is more like the truth than the first. Heavy jewelry can also, of course, pull down the earlobes, but not to the same extent as tunnels.
   Historically, everything also fits: in ancient centuries, tunnels were given sacred significance; they were inserted after passing certain initiations. Bhairava, the formidable hypostasis of the god Shiva, is often depicted with tunnels in his ears.
3. Next version. Eastern cultures have always considered big ears auspicious sign and a sign of wisdom and compassion (unlike Western culture, where the most beautiful head is considered to be one with small ears pressed tightly to the head). Since Buddha is wise and compassionate, it is quite logical for Eastern artists to depict him with long earlobes.
4. Such an image gives Buddhists confidence that the Buddha hears all their cries, knows about the suffering of the mortal world and will not leave them without help.
   (- Cheburashka, can you hear me?
   - Gena, look at my ears. Well, of course I can hear it!)
5. Perhaps Buddha was simply slightly lop-eared; this was reflected in his first images, and all subsequent sculptors and artists considered it necessary to emphasize this feature. This is how Buddha's ears grew.
6. Another version. The ears are so long because Buddha listens to the vibrations of the Universe.
7. And finally, Buddha belonged to a more ancient race and had characteristics characteristic of that race.

But! Not only Buddha is depicted with long earlobes.

Depictions of Jain Tirthankaras also have long earlobes.

About four years ago, in Gwalior, I became interested in huge Jain sculptures from the 7th to 15th centuries. In the rocks around the ancient fortress stand (and sit) the figures of 24 Tirthankaras - the great teachers of the Jainism religion. In the 16th century, Muslim barbarians knocked off the faces of most of the sculptures, but the ears, which interest us so much in this context, were practically undamaged, and you can clearly see that they hang down to the shoulders.
I then thought that it was not the ears themselves that were drooping, but some “something” in the ears, and that these Tirthankaras were generally representatives of ancient civilizations.

Here they are, long-eared beauties

But this is the interpretation I found from my beloved Rajneesh. He, as always, notes with humor that sometimes a person can, of course, have long ears, but so much so... And so that all 24 Tirthankaras at once... How is this possible? They're not donkeys. Long ears are just a symbol. How else to show in marble that a person hears the voice of God, hears the truth. When you quiet your mind, you begin to hear the voice of God. That's the point, says Rajneesh.

The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, came from the royal Shakya family and spent his youth in the palace, basking in luxury. His earlobes pulled back under the weight of the earrings he wore. He gave up enormous wealth to take the path spiritual enlightenment. In Buddhist iconography, the image of Gautama Buddha is regulated in detail. Thus, in the Tibeto-Mongolian dictionary of Buddhist terms “The Source of the Sages” there are 32 basic and 80 secondary signs that distinguishes him from other people. In particular, on the head of the Enlightened One there is an ushnisha (an oval protrusion) - the chakra of connection with the cosmos. Between the fingers of his hands there are membranes, indicating that he is able to exist in water (in Buddhism, water is one of the symbols of other worlds). In canonical images, the Buddha is usually shown seated in the lotus position on the symbolic disks of the sun and moon as the ruler of the world. The lotus position means deep contemplation. Right hand Buddha touches the earth, symbolizing enlightenment achieved despite the machinations of the evil demon Mara: when Shakyamuni gained liberation, he called mother earth as a witness.