In this session, Ajahn Kovilo will continue speaking on the 32 “Marks of a Great Person” (specifically those from the neck up) as discussed in the Lakkhaṇa Sutta (DN 30) and will suggest ways to make sense and use of it: https://suttacentral.net/dn30/en/suja…
32 Marks (continuing with those of the face):
– (21) His taste is supremely acute. CAUSE: non-harming. CO-RESULT: health and good-digestion.
– (29) His eyes are intensely blue; (30) He has eyelashes like a cow’s. CAUSE: looking at people “not askance, obliquely, or furtively, but directly, openly, and straightforwardly, and with a kindly glance. CO-RESULT: love and affection from others.
– (32) His head is like a royal turban. CAUSE: being the best in mighty, good deeds; generosity; self-discipline; keeping uposatha; honoring parents and the worthy. CO-RESULT: receiving loyalty.
– (13) The down on it grows in single hairs one to each pore; (31) Between the eyebrows appears a soft, white, downy tuft. CAUSE: not lying. CO-RESULT: being listened to.
– (23) He has forty teeth; (25) Continuous teeth. CAUSE: not slandering; delighting in harmony and reconciliation. CO-RESULT: lack of internal divisiveness among followers.
– (27) His tongue is long; (28) He has a divine voice like the karavika bird’s. CAUSE: non-harsh speech; speaking pleasingly. CO-RESULT: persuasiveness.
– (22) His jaws are as a lion’s. CAUSE: non-idle-chatter; judicious speech. CO-RESULT: can’t be overcome by opponents.
– (24) Regular teeth; (26) The canine teeth are very bright. CAUSE: right livelihood. CO-RESULT: purity of retinue.
See the last video for the first Marks:
(1) He has feet with level tread. CAUSE: undertaking mighty, good deeds; generosity; self-discipline; keeping uposatha; honoring parents and the worthy. CO-RESULT: Can’t be impeded spiritually or politically.
(2) On the soles of his feet, wheels appear thousand-spoked, with tyre and hub, in every way complete and well divided. CAUSE: lived for the happiness of many; providing protection; giving requisites. CO-RESULT: has a great retinue.
(3) He has projecting heels; (4) He is long in the fingers and toes; (15) He has a frame divinely straight. CAUSE: not killing; dwelling with metta and compassion. CO-RESULT: longevity.
(16) He has the seven convex surfaces. CAUSE: giving food and drink. CO-RESULT: receiving food and drink.
(5) Soft and tender in hands and feet; (6) With net-like hands and feet. CAUSE: Practicing saṅgaha-vatthu (giving; kind words; help; evenness). CO-RESULT: friends are kind to him.
(7) His ankles are like rounded shells; (14) his body hair is dark black and turns upward and right, in little curling rings. CAUSE: speaking Dhamma. CO-RESULT: becoming a leader.
(8) His legs are like an antelope’s. CAUSE: practice of crafts and skills. CO-RESULT: acquiring what is necessary.
(12) His skin is so delicately smooth that no dust cleaves to his body. CAUSE: asking practical moral questions of the wise. CO-RESULT: wisdom.
(11) His complexion is bright, the color of gold. CAUSE: non-anger; forbearance from aggressiveness; giving away fine cloth. CO-RESULT: receiving fine cloth.
(10) His male organs are concealed in a sheath. CAUSE: reconciling/reuniting family/friends. CO-RESULT: having many brave sons.
(9) Standing and without bending he can touch and rub his knees with either hand; (19) His proportions have the symmetry of the banyan-tree: the length of his body is equal to the compass of his arms, and the compass of his arms is equal to his height. CAUSE: knowing distinctions among people. CO-RESULT: wealth – spiritual or political.
(17) The front half of his body is like a lion’s; (18) There is no furrow between his shoulders; (20) His bust is equally rounded. CAUSE: reflecting on the wellbeing and flourishing of others. CO-RESULT: success – spiritual or political.
List of “80 minor marks”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physica…
32 Marks in the Mahayana:
https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced…
Tune in with fellow practitioners every Wednesday evening from 6 – 6:45 pm or Saturday morning from 9:30 am – 11 am for a Dhamma Talk and Q&A with Ajahn Kovilo or Ajahn Nisabho. Saturday mornings begin with a thirty-minute meditation. Wednesday evening Q&A’s are followed by a discussion on Zoom from 6:45 pm – 7:30 pm. See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_mona… for details. Welcome!
