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Why does this Buddha have snakes around it?

Comments

  • taiyakitaiyaki Veteran
    ever hear the story of the buddha? while he was meditating a snake came and shielded him from the rain.
    just saw the movie the little buddha!
  • ArjquadArjquad Veteran
    One thing that I can think of, not sure if it pertains to Buddhism though is the symbolism of the snake. In alot of early mythologies before Chrisanity, snakes were seen as symbols of prosperity and life. It was shown that since snakes shed their skin it was a sign that they started over and began again fresh and free. It was only when Christisnity came around and had the snake as the depection of the devil in the garden of Eden that snakes were looked at as evil.
    I believe that in one of the creation stories of mesopetamia had a snake symbolize the creation of the world and all life itself. That snake was a representation if the mother goddes who created everything.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    taiyaki is I believe more accurate here though...The God of the rivers, (And water also holds much symbolism) came up from the waters to shelter the Buddha:
    A favorite motif of Angkorean sculptors from approximately the 12th century A.D. onward was that of the Buddha, sitting in the position of meditation, his weight supported by the coils of a multi-headed naga that also uses its flared hood to shield him from above. This motif recalls the story of the Buddha and the serpent king Mucalinda: as the Buddha sat beneath a tree engrossed in meditation, Mucalinda came up from the roots of the tree to shield the Buddha from a tempest that was just beginning to arise.
    From here:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpent_(symbolism)#Guardianship
  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran
    That particular photo is of a Lao Buddha, but virtually the same style is very common in Thai Buddhism. And yes, as Taiyaki postulated, there is the story of the naga serpent with 7 heads coming up to protect Buddha from a thunderstorm while he was meditating and unaware of the storm.
  • TakuanTakuan Veteran
    Nagas are common in Buddhist art.

    Nagarjuna
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nagarjuna_at_Samye_Ling_Monastery.JPG
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