Brahma worship in Buddhism
Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism
umm ... guys ... click on the link I provided?
Kim
Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism
Thanks for the links. It is useful.Kim OHara wrote:
umm ... guys ... click on the link I provided?
Kim
You may also read the suggested article in Buddhist Studies Review on Brahma Samyutta, a comparative study between Pali and Chinese versions by Choong Mun-keat.
Thomas
Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism
Dear All,
There is a four-faced statue of Buddha in the south gate of Angkor Thom, Cambodia. A similar statue is also found in Bayon (at Angkor).
Is this Brahma statue?
Thomas
There is a four-faced statue of Buddha in the south gate of Angkor Thom, Cambodia. A similar statue is also found in Bayon (at Angkor).
Is this Brahma statue?
Thomas
- Attachments
-
- Four-faced statue of Buddha, South gata of Angkor Thom.jpg (126.87 KiB) Viewed 5172 times
Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism
Highly unlikely.
http://www.theangkorguide.com/cgi-bin/M ... /bayon.htm
Kim
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_ThomThe faces on the 23 m towers at the city gates, which are later additions to the main structure, take after those of the Bayon and pose the same problems of interpretation. They may represent the king himself, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, guardians of the empire's cardinal points, or some combination of these.
http://www.theangkorguide.com/cgi-bin/M ... /bayon.htm
http://wikitravel.org/en/Angkor_Archaeological_ParkWhile early Angkor temples were built as Hindu temples, Jayavarman VII converted to Mahayana Buddhism c. 1200 and embarked on a prodigious building spree, building the new capital city of Angkor Thom including Bayon, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan and many more as Buddhist structures. However, his successor Jayavarman VIII returned to Hinduism and embarked on an equally massive spree of destruction, systematically defacing Buddhist images and even crudely altering some to be Hindu again.
Kim
Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism
Thanks, Kim
Thomas
Thomas
Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism
Hi all,
This is a symbolic image of the Buddha and the two Brahmas.
Regards,
Thomas
This is a symbolic image of the Buddha and the two Brahmas.
Regards,
Thomas
- Attachments
-
- Buddha and Brahma 2.1.gif (417.21 KiB) Viewed 4505 times
Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism
Some cool photos Thanks for sharing!No_Mind wrote:thomaslaw wrote:Are both idols also found in Buddhist temples for worship?No_Mind wrote:Brahma and Ganesh are worshipped in Thailand. There is significant presence of their idols in Thai homes and shops. :
Thomas
Practice, Practice, Practice
Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism
Re Ganesha - I was in Bali recently and Ganesh images were everywhere. The island is Hindu, although with a fairly strong Buddhist influence, but the locals were quite definite that he wasn't a god, like Shiva or Brahma, but only a 'protector'. I wonder if Thai Buddhists make that distinction between the rank/importance of Brahma and Ganesha?
Kim
Kim
Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism
This is, apparently (and I am someone who has never been there and has only read this), very indicative of the current religio-political climate in Indonesia.Kim OHara wrote:but the locals were quite definite that he wasn't a god, like Shiva or Brahma, but only a 'protector'. I wonder if Thai Buddhists make that distinction between the rank/importance of Brahma and Ganesha?
Religions ambiguous "need" to be at least quasi-monotheistic to be legal for practice (like, I am pretty sure you can be anything you want at home, but if you want to build a religious centre of some kind it needs to be for a "recognized" religion, as far as I know).
This is why you have things like the classifying of Confucianism as a monotheistic religion worshipping God/Tian in Indonesia so that the ethnic Chinese could go back to their traditional temples (and continue to build and maintain them) and still observe rule of law.
It could be worse. Buddhism doesn't even exist in Israel***. Christians cannot gather publicly for worship outside of churches in Egypt (and are banned from constructing new churches).
***apparently this is based on dated info from the 90s. Israel now has "legal" Buddhism and Dharma Centres, apparently.
What is the Uncreated?
Sublime & free, what is that obscured Eternity?
It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
Both life and oblivion, it is Nirvāṇa.
Sublime & free, what is that obscured Eternity?
It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
Both life and oblivion, it is Nirvāṇa.
Re: Brahma worship in Buddhism
Possibly there is no clear distinction between Brahma and Ganesha about the rank/importance in Thai Buddhists.Kim OHara wrote:Re Ganesha - ... I wonder if Thai Buddhists make that distinction between the rank/importance of Brahma and Ganesha?
Kim
But Ganesha worship seems completely irrelevant to the Pali Buddhism. Is this worship only found in the Thai Buddhist tradition?
I personally feel that Brahma worship has better connection to the Pali Buddhism. This is because only Pali texts mentioned Brahma Sahampati requested the Buddha to teach the Dhamma to the world. The Buddha accepted the Brahma's request, out of compassion (see CHOONG Mun-keat, 2014, 'A comparison of the Pali and Chinese Versions of the Brahma Samyutta, a Collection of Early Buddhist Discourses on Brahmas, the Exalted Gods', Buddhist Studies Review 31 (2): pp. 187-188).
Thomas