Mystical weapons in Buddhism?

XEROX1 SG

Hello to all SG forum-ers.

My question I would like to ask is, in early Buddhist scriptures are their any mentions to mystical weapons, in my religion, Hinduism, there are references of mystical powers that are recited through mantras, for using entities such as wind, rain and fire as aggressive forces.

Usually such powers are discharged by the mind, eyes, words or a bow (Wikipedia)

The most common found in Hindu scriptures, along with the more powerful bhramastras and Narayanstra are the

Agneyastra (The fire weapon, made by the master of fire)
Varunastra (The fire weapon, made by the master of oceans, rivers and lakes)
Vayaastra (The wind weapon, made by the master of wind)

In Hinduism we have the Lord of the heavenly worlds who is Indra, he is also referred to as Sakra in Buddhism, and Taishakuten in Japan He poses the (Vajra) thunderbolt which is heavily mentioned in the wars between demons.

Really asking as their seems to be certain similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism, especially in terms of spirituality and self realisation.[/quote]

An Eternal Now SG

Originally posted by XEROX1:
Hello to all SG forum-ers.

My question I would like to ask is, in early Buddhist scriptures are their any mentions to mystical weapons, in my religion, Hinduism, there are references of mystical powers that are recited through mantras, for using entities such as wind, rain and fire as aggressive forces.

Welcome Very Happy First time a Hindu visits this forum.. hehe

Usually such powers are discharged by the mind, eyes, words or a bow (Wikipedia)

The most common found in Hindu scriptures, along with the more powerful bhramastras and Narayanstra are the

Agneyastra (The fire weapon, made by the master of fire)
Varunastra (The fire weapon, made by the master of oceans, rivers and lakes)
Vayaastra (The wind weapon, made by the master of wind)

In Hinduism we have the Lord of the heavenly worlds who is Indra, he is also referred to as Sakra in Buddhism, and Taishakuten in Japan He poses the (Vajra) thunderbolt which is heavily mentioned in the wars between demons.

I think other forummers can answer you better. There are many similarities in the 'pantheon' of devas/deities between Buddhism and Hinduism. And yes, different deities have different weapons I think. However Buddhists generally do not worship these deities although we may pay our respects to them, and these deities are also known to be part of samsara and are also students of the Buddha.

Really asking as their seems to be certain similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism, especially in terms of spirituality and self realisation.

In some aspects we are similar, in some aspects we are different. I have an interest in some teachings of Advaita Vedanta but even then there are some differences. The main difference is that Emptiness as Interdependent Origination is not taught in Hinduism, and furthermore we do not posit an ultimate reality as Self or Atman. Although both Atman and Buddha Nature refers to our pure luminosity aspect, the nature of it may not be realised. These are the main differences.. maybe in future we can discuss more if you're interested.

bohiruci SG

the weapons we refer in the human dimension are for dismemberment, fatal injuries of mankind and sentient beings and are thus harmful

however on a spiritual level powerful weapon in Buddhism is its symbolism of a person determination in the saviour for all sentient beings

thus is the 6 ring rod hold by Ksheetigarbha Bodhisattva
the rod have the ability to summon all spirit to come forth to listen to the Dharma teachings

Other than thats of course is the 4 directional vajra hold by the protector God
but the purpose is to warn evil spirits from disturbing great saints at a Dharma teachings

Cool Cool Cool

bohiruci SG

the Weapon of Good Speech is the weapon to protect ourselves

XEROX1 SG

Welcome First time a Hindu visits this forum.. hehe

Its a pleasure to be here, I hope I can learn something whilst im here.

the Weapon of Good Speech is the weapon to protect ourselves

But when the very nature of goodness is being eradicated is it not our duty as men, to pick up arms and fight evil and tyranny in all its forms, thus restoring righteousness in society

An Eternal Now SG

I think weapons are symbolic and in Buddhism we do not advocate physical violence to restore righteousness literally. Non-violence and compassion is very important in Buddhism.

I think more importantly we have to severe evil from its roots - the mind. This is also known as mind purification. However mind purification does not only mean eradicating evil thoughts, it means eradicating the root ignorance within sentient beings. The root ignorance is the belief and attachment to the ego/false self. From it springs all the 5 poisons (craving, anger, jealousy, pride and ignorance) that leads sentient beings to degeneration and creating more evil and misfortunes.

And what does the sword of manjusri symoblise? Exactly this.. to cut the bonds of ignorance so that one can gain wisdom. Manjusri Bodhisattva symbolises Great Wisdom.

An Eternal Now SG

BTW you're Indian?

You seem to be new to sgForums. How did you come to know this Buddhist forum?

XEROX1 SG

^^^

BTW you're Indian?

You seem to be new to sgForums. How did you come to know this Buddhist forum?

Yep, im a 22Yr old British born Indian, living in the U.K.

First came across the forum looking at the military thread, and stumbled onto the Buddhist section, im getting into my spirituality right (must be a phase Very Happy ), looking at both Hinduism and Buddhism (and ancient India, Vedic cultures), so im learning all whats being said as well

Kudos for the very imformative site.

An Eternal Now SG

Oh I see.. Enjoy your reading Smile