Yamakaprātihārya
yamakaprātihārya (P. yamakapāṭihāriya; T. rdzu 'phrul ya ma zung རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་ཡ་མ་ཟུང་; C. shuangshenbian 雙神變) is translated as "paired miracle," "twin miracle," "miracle of double appearances," etc.[1][2] It is one of the two most famous miracles performed by the Buddha, the other being the "great miracle" (mahāprātihārya).[1]
There are multiple accounts of these two miracles in traditional sources, in both canonical sources and commentaries. Both miracles are understood to have taken place in the city of Sravasti, and are sometimes referred to as the Sravasti miracles.[1] In the Pali tradition, the yamakaprātihārya is one of thirty deeds performed by all buddhas.
When performing the yamakaprātihārya, the Buddha displayed water streaming from one half of his body and fire streaming from the other half. According to one account from the Pali tradition:
- ... in the midst of the crowd, he performs the miracle of double appearances: from the upper part of his body, flames shoot up, while from the lower part a stream of water pours forth; then, he reverses things and flames emerge from the lower part of his body and water from the upper part. Then flames and water simultaneously emerge from the front and back of his body, from his right and left eyes, from his right and left ears, from his right and left nostrils, shoulders, hands, sides, feet, fingers, etc. Both flames and water shoot up as far as Brahma’s heaven and out to the edges of the universe, illuminating the whole cosmos. All the while, the Buddha, walking up and down on the walkway, preaches the Dharma to the multitude.
- While doing so, he realizes that he himself is the best one present to ask questions as well as to answer them, so he creates a double of himself, who then asks questions to which he responds, or who walks back and forth while he sits, or sits while he walks back and forth. In this way, two hundred million people are brought to a comprehension of the Dharma.[2]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. yamakaprātihārya.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Strong 2009, Chapter 6, section "The Great Miracle at Sravasti".
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University- Strong, John (2009), The Buddha: A Beginner's Guide, Oxford: Oneworld Publications
External links
rdzu_'phrul_ya_ma_zung, Rangjung Yeshe Wiki