Cambodia: Stone-carving village

Wednesday 15th August 2012.

 

Our next stop along the way between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap was at a stone-carving village where we watched a skilled workman carving a statue of a nāga (seven-headed serpent) protecting Buddha.

Among the notable nāgas of Buddhist tradition is Mucalinda,  protector of the Buddha. In the Vinaya Sutra (I, 3) the Buddha shortly after his enlightenment is meditating in a forest when a great storm arises, but graciously Naga King Mucalinda gives shelter to the Buddha from the storm by covering the Buddha's head with his seven snake heads.  Then the king takes the form of a young Brahmin and renders the Buddha homage.

It was hideously hot, so I’m afraid we didn’t watch the carver for very long.

 

Complete and incomplete Buddha statues.

 

Other carvings at the site:

 

 

 

 

Over the years, many explanations have arisen to explain the significance of Buddha’s long ears.  Here are some:

• The Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha in modern-day Nepal, where the cultural norm was for men to display their wealth on their ears. This was done through the adornment of large and heavy ear ornaments made of precious metals and stones, which resulted in the men having stretched ears.  Although the prince would have stopped wearing ear ornaments when he left the palace and became a monk, his ear lobes remained stretched. These are indicative of Buddha’s renunciation of the material world.
• Eastern cultures have always regarded large ears as an auspicious sign and an indication of wisdom and compassion, as one who listens and attends to all.

This serves as a reminder for Buddhists to be always compassionate.

 

Very neat house opposite where the stone carver was working.  I hope it belonged to the stone carver, so he could pop back and have a rest after our bus had left, as it was far to hot for anyone to be working at that time of day.

 

An enormous number of people hopped out of these two trucks while we were there.  I hope they were workers coming in for their midday break.

 

While we were there, a farmer drove past in his “cow machine” (i.e. a machine which did the same ploughing and hauling work as a cow or water buffalo) with a load of logs.