What is "Phra Pidtta"?
"Phra" in Thai means "amulet", or "venerable", depending on its context. (anyone well-versed in Thai, please correct me. Thanks!)
"Pidtta" is a generic name for those amulets with this design:
1) it is an amulet depicting a Buddhist saint, sitting in a half-lotus or full lotus meditative sitting position, covering his entire face with his hands.
What the amulet design signifies and its reputed powers:
1) Being free from the worldly attachments of man's desires (from his 5 or 6 senses)
2) Divine Protection from the worldly temptations
3) Protection from one's enemies, such as Invisibility from Enemies (signified by the covering of the monk saint's eyes)
4) Invulnerability (or Impenetrability) to weapons (eg: knives)
5) Protection from Black magic
6) Protection from malevolent/evil spirits and other lower-level astral entities
7) Evasion of danger and from one's enemies
According to my research, there are many variations on how this design of amulets came about.
This is one version:
There once was a formidable fighter named Bagawan (or Bakawan) who lived in a village. After his wanderings (presumedly to test his fighting abilities), he returned to his village. During his wanderings he had converted to Buddhism.
After his return, for those who wanted to take revenge on him (for reasons I am unable to determine), he accepted it. He would just cover his face and let his enemies and former enemies beat him, accepting his bad karma.
Note: Permission has been given to me to use the Pidtta digital image shown in this posting. Permission in this case has been given to me by my friend Wayne.
No comments:
Post a Comment