Mahapurusalaksana
Mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa (Skt.; P. mahāpurisalakkhaṇa; T. skyes bu chen po’i mtshan; C. darenxiang; J. daininsō; K. taeinsang 大人相), literally “the marks of a great man,” is a list of thirty-two marks possessed by both buddhas and chakravartins.[1]
These "marks" or "signs" are also referred to as:
- major marks of a great person
- thirty-two major marks of a great man
- thirty-two signs of a great man
- thirty-two major marks of a buddha
These marks are derived from virtuous acts in previous lives. The marks "are said to be fully present on the body of a buddha, especially in the sambhogakaya, with similitudes of the marks found on the body of cakravartin.[2]
There are a variety of versions of the list of the thirty-two marks, though they generally agree on most features.
The thirty-two marks
The following list of thirty-two major marks is from the Buddhist Text Translation Society:[3]
- Level feet
- Thousand-spoked wheel sign on feet
- Long, slender fingers
- Pliant hands and feet
- Toes and fingers finely webbed
- Full-sized heels
- Arched insteps
- Thighs like a royal stag
- Hands reaching below the knees
- Well-retracted male organ
- Height and stretch of arms equal
- Every hair-root dark colored
- Body hair graceful and curly
- Golden-hued body
- Ten-foot aura around him
- Soft, smooth skin
- Soles, palms, shoulders, and crown of head well-rounded
- Area below armpits well-filled
- Lion-shaped body
- Body erect and upright
- Full, round shoulders
- Forty teeth
- Teeth white, even, and close
- Four canine teeth pure white
- Jaw like a lion
- Saliva that improves the taste of all food
- Tongue long and broad
- Voice deep and resonant
- Eyes deep blue[4]
- Eyelashes like a royal bull
- White ūrṇā curl that emits light between eyebrows
- Fleshy protuberance on the crown of the head
Other sources for major marks
Other sources that provide lists of the major marks are:
- Discourse of the Marks (Pali: Lakkhaṇa Sutta) (DN 30)[5]
- Brahmāyu Sutta of the Majjhima Nikāya (MN 91)
Thirty-two major marks of a buddha, Rigpa Shedra Wiki
See also
References
- ↑
Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa
- ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa
- ↑ Epstein, Ronald. Buddhist Text Translation Society's Buddhism A to Z. 2003. p. 200
- ↑ Epstein, Ronald (2003), Buddhist Text Translation Society's Buddhism A to Z (illustrated ed.), Burlingame, CA: Buddhist Text Translation Society, p. 200
- ↑ Shaw, Sarah. Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from the Pali Canon. 2006. p. 114
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University
External links
- Thirty-two major marks of a buddha, Rigpa Shedra Wiki
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