More info about this picture of Shakyamuni Buddha:
By Suguno from E-Sangha:
I heard from Venerable Mahinda
about a picture taken by an Australian, who did not believe in
Buddhism. I have that picture myself. I also know a couple of
things that relate to this picture. However I reckon it is better
not to show it in an open forum like this. Some may believe, some
don't. For those who have doubts in mind may make a lot of guesses
and comments.
From the looks of it, the picture was black and white and they
added colour to it later.
The story was told by Venerable
Mahinda of Aloka Foundation, at a private meeting.
The picture was taken by an Australia (if my memory does not go
wrong), who was not a believer. When he saw people bowing to the
Bodhi tree, he didn't take that seriously, and he thought 'if you
are real, then show me'. Then he took a camera to take a picture of
the tree.
After the picture was developed, to his surprise, he saw the
image.
There was a very young boy in Sri Lanka, who was known for his
ability to recite very ancient scriptures at very young age. Then
he was discovered to remember them from his previous existence. And
he had been a human being at the time of the Buddha, so he had met
the Buddha. When Venerable Mahinda met this person, he showed him
that image, and this person confirmed that the Buddha did look like
that. - an e-sangha moderator
Also, interestingly, is the mudra of the Buddha in the picture. His
hand gestures is his way of saying 'hi' to the photographer Mr.
Green
Buddha's upraised right hand is
turned outwards at the level of his heart, his fingers pointing
skyward. This gesture is known as the abhaya mudra. Abhaya in
Sanskrit means fearlessness. Thus this mudra symbolizes protection,
peace, and the dispelling of fear.
This mudra, which initially appears to be a natural
gesture, was probably used from prehistoric times as a sign of good
intentions - the hand raised and unarmed proposes friendship, or at
least peace; since antiquity, it was also a gesture asserting
power, as with the magna manus of the Roman Emperors who legislated
and gave peace at the same time. Buddhist tradition has an
interesting legend behind this mudra:
Devadatta, a cousin of the Buddha, through jealousy caused a schism
to be caused among the disciples of Buddha. As Devadatta's pride
increased, he attempted to murder the Buddha. One of his schemes
involved loosing a rampaging elephant into the Buddha's path. But
as the elephant approached him, Buddha displayed the Abhaya mudra,
which immediately calmed the animal. Accordingly, it indicates not
only the appeasement of the senses, but also the absence of
fear.
---
and the last info I received from the e-sangha moderator regarding
this picture:
from moderator Suguno -
The story was told by Venerable Mahinda of Aloka Foundation, at a
private meeting.
The picture was taken by an Australia (if my memory does not go
wrong), who was not a believer. When he saw people bowing to the
Bodhi tree, he didn't take that seriously, and he thought 'if you
are real, then show me'. Then he took a camera to take a picture of
the tree.
After the picture was developed, to his surprise, he saw the
image.
There was a very young boy in Sri Lanka, who was known for his
ability to recite very ancient scriptures at very young age. Then
he was discovered to remember them from his previous existence. And
he had been a human being at the time of the Buddha, so he had met
the Buddha. When Venerable Mahinda met this person, he showed him
that image, and this person confirmed that the Buddha did look like
that.
Of course, this type of story always have many ways of
interpretating. And we are not sure the reliability of the source,
or if anything went wrong in the process. But if this kind of thing
can give rise to saddha, and one is inspired to practise, then that
will be good. However, I would like not to openly talk about this
kind of thing because on the internet world there are a lot of
people who come from the Western Intellectualism background, they
cannot easily accept something, and are easy to criticise
something. That's why I would not like to openly discuss this type
of thing.
I received a third message from him, the most recent one,
telling me that the person who confirmed that the picture was real
was Dhamma Ruwan
As you can see from the website, he is able to remember several
past lives, chant profound suttas at young age with no
difficulties, enter samadhi even as a baby, recall the cremation
site of Buddha, and of course remember the past life he spent with
Buddha himself.
