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 moderatorAlso, 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 RuwanAs 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.
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