Swastikas In A Buddhist Temple
“The secret of Buddhism is to remove all ideas, all concepts, in order for the truth to have a chance to penetrate, to reveal itself.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
I was at meditation class earlier this week and noticed something that struck me as extremely odd and disturbing. Three of the Buddha statues had swastikas on their chests! They looked something like this…
Being the unenlightened heathen that I am, I have always associated this symbol with Nazi Germany. As I pondered the question of why this symbol was in a Buddhist temple, I wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into. I want no part of any Nazis!
I have since found out that it is, in fact, an ancient symbol of harmony that was adopted by the Nazis and now represents evil to most Westerners.
Also known as a “yung drung” in ancient Tibet, it was a graphical representation of eternity[2][3]. Today the symbol is used in Buddhist art and scripture, known in Japanese as a manji (literally, “the character for eternality” ??), and represents Dharma, universal harmony, and the balance of opposites. When facing left, it is the omote (front) manji, representing love and mercy. Facing right, it represents strength and intelligence, and is called the ura (rear) manji. Balanced manji are often found at the beginning and end of Buddhist scriptures (outside India).
Buddhism originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BC and inherited the manji. These two symbols are included, at least since the Liao Dynasty, as part of the Chinese language, the symbolic sign for the character ? or ? (wàn in Mandarin, man in Korean, Cantonese and Japanese, v?n in Vietnamese) meaning “all” or “eternality” (lit. myriad) and as ?, which is seldom used. A manji marks the beginning of many Buddhist scriptures. The manji (in either orientation) appears on the chest of some statues of Gautama Buddha and is often incised on the soles of the feet of the Buddha in statuary. Because of the association of the right-facing swastika with Nazism, Buddhist manji (outside India only) after the mid-20th century are almost universally left-facing: ?. This form of the manji is often found on Chinese food packaging to signify that the product is vegetarian and can be consumed by strict Buddhists. It is often sewn into the collars of Chinese children’s clothing to protect them from evil spirits.
In 1922, the Chinese Syncretist movement Daoyuan founded the philanthropic association Red Swastika Society in imitation of the Red Cross. The association was very active in China during the 1920s and the 1930s.One can see swastika on Pillars of Ashoka where swastika is a symbol of cosmic dance around a fixed center and guards against evil . – Wikipedia
It’s even illegal in Germany today…
Though once commonly used all over much of the world without stigma, because of its iconic usage in Nazi Germany the symbol has become stigmatized in the Western world, notably even outlawed in Germany. - Wikipedia
Good to know that I have not aligned myself with any sort of evil supremacist organization. This was just one, of many, concepts that I needed to remove.
Thanks for stopping by!
I was recently in Korea and saw this too at the Buddhist Temples that I visited and then looked into it myself out of curiosity. One key difference is that the Nazi swastika is usually on a slant and the Buddhist and other ancient forms are on a flat plan.
I don’t think in my entire 35 years I have even seen the word Swastika in written form. That strikes me as odd.
Great story!
That quote is co-winki-dental to my coming to terms with my notions about anything and everything. Whoa!
My oldest son was reading this over my shoulder and said this symbol has been used in several religions and cultures. How dare those Nazis take a nice religious symbol that designates harmony and use it for their evil purposes!
The symbol is a stylized whirlpool, a vortex, a hurricane. It is strong energy moving all around a still center point.
This idea has been used through all human cultures, from the earliest tribal art to the latest corporate logos. Take a look at the JPMorgan Chase logo, for instance. Sometimes the vortex is squared, like Chase’s. Other times it is rounded, like Whirlpool’s. In fact, a swirl is used in so many logos these days that it’s become a cliché.
Thanks for removing the misconception associated with this symbol of many of us.
Thank you for the very interesting words on the origins of the svastika…as stated in Wiki…it is a symbol of great and deep spiritual significance to both buddhists and those who follow the sanatanadharma (hinduism), and as a practicing buddhist find myself in the position to explain the symbology and what it truly represents. thank you for bringing this to the Mind of others to know!