Is Buddha's head covered in 108 snails ?

[ronki23]

Yuck!

 

[crossfire]

Was there an *actual* naga named Mucalinda who protected Buddha from the elements as he meditated under the Bodhi tree or is it a metaphor for something else?

 

[mangalavara]

Was there an *actual* naga named Mucalinda who protected Buddha from the elements as he meditated under the Bodhi tree

Yes. I saw the movie.

or is it a metaphor for something else?

I’m not good at this kind of thing, but as a metaphor, I think it might mean that things naturally conspired to assist Gautama on his journey to enlightenment.

 

[ronki23]

How true is the snail story? Because other Buddhas (not Siddhartha) also have 'hair' like that

 

[Twilight Hue]

How true is the snail story? Because other Buddhas (not Siddhartha) also have 'hair' like that

How they ever came up with that, I'll never know.

Still. Hinduism in Buddhist drag is my first thought on those crazy stories.

 

[crossfire]

How they ever came up with that, I'll never know.

Still. Hinduism in Buddhist drag is my first thought on those crazy stories.

Yeah, Vishnu is associated with snails, no?

 

[Twilight Hue]

Yeah, Vishnu is associated with snails, no?

The Shankha according to what I understand about Vishnu.

 

[crossfire]

I can see how the symbolism of Mucalinda and the snails might correspond to a specific meditative technique.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Yeah, Vishnu is associated with snails, no?

1. Buddha, for Hindus, is the ninth avatara of Lord Vishnu.
2. Most probably Buddha had curly hair, common and liked in India; so when his hair grew to some length, they may look like snails to some ignorant people.
3. Vishnu (or Buddha) is associated with all things in the universe, even snails and cockroaches. After all, to most Hindus, he is the creator and Supreme God.

 

[Aupmanyav]

The Shankha according to what I understand about Vishnu.

Not just the Shankha (conch, Turbinella shell), but also to Shaligrama (fossilized ammonite shells).