[Downtown Dharma Listserve] "Wisdom fist"

Dear sangha,

I saw this statue at the Met yesterday and thought of something Devin said in his talk at Potter's House last week. I don't remember his exact words, but he was speaking about the moment when what we understand mentally/intellectually about the dhamma touches what we've always known in our hearts.

The picture below is of a 12th century statue of the Supreme Buddha of the Cosmos, known in Japan as Dainichi Nyorai. His hands are forming a mudra known as "wisdom fist," which has the power to restrain the passions that hinder enlightenment and -- here's the interesting part -- expresses the union of the spiritual and material realms of being.

I don't know whether this mudra is meant to express exactly what Devin was talking about last week, but it struck me the moment I saw it that that's what it was. It's a cool concept, anyway. Museums are fun.

With metta,

et

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