The Symbol of the Swastika

An Eternal Now SG

http://www.jenchen.org.sg/vol9no1c.htm

The () is symbolic of immense virtues, merits and propitiousness

Many people wonder about the meaning of () which is found on the chest of the Buddha. () is in fact symbolic of the immense virtues, merits and propitiousness cultivated by the Buddha through his aeons of many past lives. To many people, it is synonymous with Buddhism. Why do some () appear to be rotating clockwise while others anti-clockwise? How do we know which is right?

The () on the Buddha's chest represents the immense virtues, merits and propitiousness cultivated through his aeons of many past lives. Because the Buddha has such an auspicious characteristic, when we draw the image of the Buddha we invariably include the Swastika sign. As to its rotational direction, this question is the subject of endless debate and there hasn't been a conclusion. Actually, the lack of a conclusion is itself a conclusion. It does not matter whether it appears to be rotating to the right or to the left. If, from where I am sitting it appears to rotate to the right, it will appear to rotate left when viewed from another angle. Therefore, rotating towards the left is also perfectly alright. So if Buddha's disciples stood on the same side as the Buddha, their view of the () would differ that from the position where the lay disciples sat. Therefore, I feel that it doesn't matter which direction the Swastika appears to rotate. Either way is fine. It is a matter of tradition that we say that it rotates towards the right.

Many scientists have hypothesised that the entire universe exhibits a phenomenon of motion. It rotates clockwise rather than counter-clockwise. Perhaps the innumerable events and objects produced by the universe, as well as all that can neither be intuited by the intellect nor perceived by the senses, are created by this phenomenon. As Buddhists, we embrace and practise Buddha's teachings, which assert that everything in this universe is produced by the principle of this motion. We sometimes come across scientists discussing this subject. Hopefully in future, scientists will be able to uncover the universal phenomenon of utmost happiness. That would surely be very meaningful indeed.

bohiruci SG

Swastika does not comes from Buddhism,it is an ancient symbol that symbolise

Million and thus auspicious ..i trying to find the source for u Smile

An Eternal Now SG

Yes it is a very very ancient sign Smile

shade343 SG

This symbol can also be found in Hinduism. Smile

An Eternal Now SG

The chinese version one is clearer in terms especially regards to second paragraph: http://www.humanbliss.com.sg/ques_ansdetails.asp?articleNo=42 (Wan Zi Dai Biao Wan De Ji Xiang)

Makes me wonder about this 'clockwise phenomena' Confused interesting..

ceecookie SG

Nazi leader Adolf Hitler used the mirror image 45 deg clockwise version of the swastika as an emblem of Nazism

An Eternal Now SG

Hitler adopted the Swastika sign from the Thule society. But their understanding is completely different from Buddhism/or other religions.

Here is a URL explaining the meaning of swastika from various places and also about hitler's use of swastika: http://web.singnet.com/~sidneys/Swastika.htm

An Eternal Now SG

Found another interesting website: http://www.intelinet.org/swastika/swasti01.htm

.....According to some scholars, "swastika" is properly the name for the symbol running destroverse or clockwise , i. e. with its legs pointing to the left, while the"sauvastika" is actually the Indian name for the sinistroverse swastika, the one running counterclockwise, i. e. with its legs pointing to the right.

This hypothesis was advanced by J. G. Müller (Geschichte der amerikanishen Urreligionen , Basel: 1855). But Thomas Wilson, one of the main swastika scholars (The Swastika, the earliest known symbol, and its migrations , Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Report,1894), sees no justification for it.

If one accepts Müller's hypothesis, however, the design selected by Hitler as the symbol of the Nazi movement was not actually a swastika, but a sauvastika.....

sinweiy SG

intestingly, whirlpool also rotates anti clockwise.

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sinweiy SG

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Found another interesting website: http://www.intelinet.org/swastika/swasti01.htm

.....According to some scholars, "swastika" is properly the name for the symbol running destroverse or clockwise , i. e. with its legs pointing to the left, while the"sauvastika" is actually the Indian name for the sinistroverse swastika, the one running counterclockwise, i. e. with its legs pointing to the right.

.....

oh my..i go the wrong idea that it's counterclockwise like the galaxy/whirlpool. Embarassed

so next time or from now onward, based on a '2D board', we buddhist use the clockwise swastika rather than the counterclockwise sauvastika that Hitler use, can?

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NT2 SG

hw come most buddha, bodhisattwva images the forehead got a red dot? any meaning?

sand king SG

http://history1900s.about.com/cs/swastika/a/swastikahistory.htm

Read this... they say that the swastika is 3k years old lol

sinweiy SG

Originally posted by NT2:
hw come most buddha, bodhisattwva images the forehead got a red dot? any meaning?[/b]

that's called Bai Hao, the White urna or curl between Sakyamuni's eyebrows; one of the 32 Signs of the Buddha. from it, in the Mahayana sutras, he sends out a ray of light which reveals all worlds; it is used as a synonym of the Buddha.

more info:
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/footprints-bussokuseki.html

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022615 SG

Actually, the swastika has deeper meanings, and there is no preference whether it rotates left or right, it's the same. Very few people know that the symbol originates from previous civilisations extremely long ago, well, it's possible even before Atlantis.

It has meanings too, not mentioned in any of the 'modern' texts.

Cenarious SG

isnt this dependent on the location of earth you are in? rotating one side in the northern hemisphere and the other side in the south

bohiruci SG

yes ...it is dependent .. i read a science journal that

the scientist have found that the common kitchen sink is a indication of the
different direction of the flowing down of water through a sink

and they found out that at the equator ,the water actually goes down the sink to the pipes without even twirling ....

Actually i can said it is the gravitational pulll of the moon on earth

sinweiy SG

ic...so that mean that goes for the galaxy one.

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An Eternal Now SG

Just a note, in our own galaxy, Buddha considered our planet as being located at the Southern region. There are human planets in the northern, eastern, and western regions too and will be under the rule of a universal ruler in the future.