The Hand sign
8 Sep 2013
Good morning, everyone!
I am glad to see you this morning. I am also very happy to have Rev. Hosho Sugawara and his members from Hilo mission here at the Betsuin today.
President Keith Nagai asked me a question the other day. It was about a hand sign of the Buddha statue. This is a very important question for all of us. Allow me answer his question today.
The Hand sign is very important for the Buddha statues. There are many Buddhas such as Taho Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, Amida Buddha and millions of other Buddhas as told in the Lotus Sutra. But, nobody meets them today. Nobody knows what they look like. So, nobody can tell which Buddha is which. Please look at our Buddha statues on the altar (Shonin-san, Point to the Buddha Statues). There are two Buddhas there. Do you know which Buddha is Shakyamuni Buddha? Shakyamuni Buddha is on your left side and Taho Buddha is on your right side. Can you tell the difference? Do you notice some differences between them? I think that they are exactly the same. No difference. The only way of knowing is by position. Their position tells me who they are. The Kishimojin statue next door is easy to tell. However, it is so hard to tell which Buddha is which when you look at only his face. So again, how can we tell which Buddha is which? We identify them with hand signs. When we notice it, we usually can tell which Buddha is which. Besides hand signs, we should take notice of their robes, the crests on the robes, and accessories such as a crown, something they are holding in their hands, their areola, the platform and other less noticeable features.
Going back to the main subject, there are many hand signs. If we talk about popular ones, there are 12 famous hand signs. As you see, Shakyamuni Buddha and Taho Buddha here have Gassho sign. In my previous Dharma talk, I said that Gassho means non-violence, faith and prayer. I will talk about Nichiren Shonin's statue later. We have a columbarium next door. There is another set of Shakyamuni Buddha and Taho Buddha on the altar. However, they show different hand signs. Please check them out later. Shakymuni Buddha shows the “Hokai Join” and Taho Buddha shows the “Seppo” sign. The “Hokai Join” is a sign when we do Shodaigyo. Do you remember that? (Shonin-san, Show congregation the sign) The “Hokai Join” is a sign putting your hand on another hand while touching tips of both thumbs. This sign shows we are practicing meditation. It shows when the Buddha attained awakening. It is a sign of Enlightenment. The sign of the Taho Buddha is holding both hands in front of his chest and showing a circle. (Shonin-san, Show congregation the sign) Both middle fingers are bent little more than other fingers. Taho Buddha makes a circle showing the Dharma Wheel. In Buddhism, turning the Dharma Wheel means to preach the teaching. So, the “Seppo” sign means preaching. You may wonder why the Taho Buddha preaches. In the Lotus Sutra, there is a popular praise we chant.
“Thereupon a loud voice of praise was heard from within the stupa of treasures: Excellent! Excellent! You, Shakyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded to this great multitude the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma upheld by the Buddhas. So it is, so it is. What you, Shakymuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded is all true.”
That was what Taho Buddha said in the chapter XI when he certified the truthfulness of Shakyamuni Buddha's words. Not only Shakyamuni Buddha but also many others are saying something in the sutra.
Anyway, now you understand that even the same Buddha's statues show different hand signs. In addition to 2 patterns, there is another popular hand sign. Both Taho and Shakyamuni Buddhas show the same “Hokai Join.” So today, we learned that #1 both Buddhas show the same Gassho, #2 both Buddhas show the same “Hokai Join” and #3 Shakyamuni Buddha shows the “Hokai Join” and Taho Buddha shows the “Seppo” sign. These 3 patterns are very popular in Nichiren Shu.
Finally, a very important thing about the hand sign. The hand signs are very popular in Nichiren Shu that both Buddhas show the same Gassho (Shonin-san, Show congregation the sign). In reality, you can find it only in Nichiren Shu. You cannot find the Shakyamuni Buddha statue with Gassho sign in any other Buddhist schools. Other Buddhist schools do not believe or worship the Shakyamuni Buddha statue with the Gassho sign. Why not? As mentioned previously, Gassho is a form of non-violence, faith and prayer. If it is a form of faith, to whom does Shakyamuni Buddha Gassho and believe in? If it is a form of prayer, what does he pray for? To pray means to have a wish for something. For example, we may wish for a speedy recovery from sickness, or in attaining Buddhahood. We have a wish. That's why we pray. To pray means that we have a desire in our minds. Shakyamuni Buddha overcame and quenched those desires and liberated himself from them. He awakened. He never had a desire again. That's why the other schools do not show Shakyamuni Buddha statue in Gassho. It is a popular statue in Nichiren Shu. What is happening in Nichiren Shu? Did we make a big mistake? No. In fact, Shakymuni Buddha has a wish even after he attained Enlightenment. We can say that he attained enlightenment with a wish. What is his wish? The Lotus Sutra talks about it in many ways. For instance, it is the last phrase of the chapter XVI which we have just chanted. It says, “I am always thinking: ‘How shall I cause all living beings to enter into the unsurpassed way and quickly become Buddhas?” His wish is to save all living beings. That is the wish of the Awakened one. I should say “compassion” instead of wish.
One could say it is Buddhist common sense that our Shakyamuni Buddha statue there (Shonin-san, Point to the statue) shows his profound compassion toward us. I believe it is a very grateful statue for us.
People may think that a Buddha statue is something old, outdated or useless. The truth is that our Buddha statues are very active, alive, compassionate and dynamic always listening and offering hope. Why should we enshrine the statues? Why are they focuses of our devotion? As you look at the Buddha statues, my wish is for you to develop a deep understand and faith.