ÉÃ - Sauvastika
One of supreme merit and dignity, auspice and completeness

The swastika

This is an auspicious symbol in Buddhism, found frequently in temples and on objects of art. It is a revolving cross, symbolising the ceaseless activity of the universal life principle evolving the cosmos. In Buddhism, it is taken to represent the wheel of the law or teaching (dhammacakka). In Buddhism, as indeed in Hinduism, the swastika is in the opposite direction to the symbol used by the Nazis in Germany.

Visitors of Nan Tien Temple have always shown much interest and curiosity in the ÉÃ character found on the chest of the Five Directional Buddhas inside the Main Shrine. So, what does this character mean? And why is it found on the chest of a Buddha's statue?

The ÉÃ character is pronounced in Chinese as the "Wan" character, and its meaning is explained as the auspicious sea of clouds or the auspicious swirl. It is one of Buddha's 32 features and the 80 noble physical characteristics, and is found on the chest of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The character is said to be a symbol of the assemblage of auspice and merits. Chapter 1 of the Dirghagama-Sutra and chapter 381 of the Mahaprajna Sutra both have records of the character being found on the Buddha's chest, hands, feet and waist. Several ÉÃ characters can be found on Buddha's foot prints in India.

The shape of the ÉÃ character was a symbol of auspice, purity and completeness in ancient India. Other countries like Persia and Greece also had similar signs which were generally symbols of the sun, lightning, fire and water. On the other hand, in Buddhism, the ÉÃ character is an auspicious feature of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. It was not until later that the character became a symbol of Buddhism, thus can be found on Buddhist architecture, implement or artifacts.

Wan was originally a sign rather than a character, and the reasons for it to be pronounced as "wan" are 1) a habit since ancient times, and mostly importantly 2) discrepancies between different versions of the translation. For example, 17 translations into the "Wan" pronunciation can be found in the New Avatamsaka Sutra, different meanings in the Sanskrit language can also be found: Book 48, "Tathagata possesses the noble character on his chest in the shape of ÉÃ, named the 'auspicious sea of clouds,'" here, the meaning of ÉÃ is the direction of the whirl which the Buddha's hair is tied up.. Many other definitions can be found relating to hair, but most sutras have interpreted it as the ÉÃ character.

The ÉÃ character has been found rotating in different directions since ancient times. In Hinduism, male gods are usually represented with signs turning in the anti-clockwise direction while the goddesses are represented with signs turning in the clockwise direction. On the other hand, Buddhism uses the sign that rotates in the anti-clockwise direction. Many Buddhist sutras have stated such direction of rotation for the sign, the white aura between the Buddha's eye-brows also rotate in this direction. Furthermore, one must walk around in the same direction when paying respect to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. There is a stupa found in India today, which was a building from King Asoka's time. This stupa was build to commemorate Buddha's entrance into Nirvana, and all the Sauvastikas found on this stupa rotate in the anti-clockwise direction. The so-called anti-clockwise direction is according to the position of the ÉÃ character itself, and not from our angle or position.

Many people have mistaken the ÉÃ character as the Nazi Swastika which represents conflict, thus when the sign is found on the body of a Buddhist statue misunderstandings may occur. A very important thing to remember is that the Nazi sign is turned at a 45 degree angle which is very different from the Buddhist Sauvastika ÉÃ, and these two signs must not be mixed up.

Each religion of this world has their own symbols or implement as a way to express their way of thinking. In Buddhism, besides the ÉÃ character, there is also the Dharma Wheel, lotus flowers, stupas, prayer beads, Bodhi Tree and Mandala etc. All of these symbols can represent Buddhism, while none of these signs alone can be the dominant symbol that represents Buddhism as a whole.

THE FUTURE BUDDHA CUTTING HIS HAIR TO BECOME A MONK