Siddhattha overhears these doubts being expressed so he takes of his clothes, spreads his legs and shows the ladies what is there - and what was there is his kosohitavatthaguyha glowing with a golden light. Then a lotus appeared and from its centre a baby boy’s penis emerges which gradually grows into an adult’s. More lotuses appear, each with a bodhisattva in it. The sutra doesn’t record what the ladies-in-waiting said about this extraordinary exhibition
According to the Tipiṭaka, one of the 32 Signs of a Great Man is that ‘the cloth-hidden is encased in a sheath’ (kosohitavatthaguyha, M.II,135). This was interpreted to mean that the Buddha’s penis could be drawn into the body and remain there as with some animals like horses, cattle and elephants.
the banyan tree was considered sacred, and the Buddha is supposed to have had the proportions of a banyan tree (nigrodhaparimaṇḍala), i.e. the length of his outstretched arms equalled his height. He is supposed to have had long curved eye lashes (gopakhuma) and a very long tongue (pahūtajivhā), both of which are features of the cow, an animal the Indians greatly revered.
According to the Ṛg Veda, an attractive penis would be big and thick like a club. The Atharva Veda has a prayer to make the penis long and hard like a taut bow and also contains spells to make it as long as that of the wild ass, the elephant or the stallion. The Rāmāyana on the other hand, describes the auspicious man as having a slender, short penis with a smooth glans and drooping testicles. The Buddha seems to have had an aesthetic appreciation for this part of the male anatomy too.
It seems probable that like the ancient Greeks, the Buddha’s contemporaries considered having a penis whose foreskin (kosa) remained over the glans (makula) when either flaccid or erect, to be a sign of beauty and nobility and that at a later period this physical characteristic was attributed to the Buddha.
I didn’t know Buddhism had so much dick lore ~ I want that horse cock spell.
You haven’t read much Abhidharma if “comprehensible” is how you would describe Theravada.
Not saying anything is wrong with Theravada. Entire cultures are built on its principles. But it takes a surface-level glance to think of it as something simple and easy to understand.
Zen though, most of the teachings are about pedagogical methods rather than doctrine. That’s why it sounds weird to westerners who think of “religion” as dusty old books and priests who tell you what to do/think.
Zen teachings literally tell you “Don’t cling to fixed ideas. Don’t seek answers from some external authority figure.” Everything they teach is about guiding you to internalize those things. It’s about showing, not telling.
So expecting it to “make sense” in the lens of “just let me read a book that will tell me what to believe” is already starting from the wrong foot.
That’s Zen Buddhism which is like that.
Theravada Buddhism is different, it’s actually comprehensible.
Mahayana can be pretty out there too.
https://sdhammika.blogspot.com/2010/08/strangest-sutra-of-them-all.html>
When I googled “kosohitavatthaguyha” I found this
I didn’t know Buddhism had so much dick lore ~ I want that horse cock spell.
You haven’t read much Abhidharma if “comprehensible” is how you would describe Theravada.
Not saying anything is wrong with Theravada. Entire cultures are built on its principles. But it takes a surface-level glance to think of it as something simple and easy to understand.
Zen though, most of the teachings are about pedagogical methods rather than doctrine. That’s why it sounds weird to westerners who think of “religion” as dusty old books and priests who tell you what to do/think.
Zen teachings literally tell you “Don’t cling to fixed ideas. Don’t seek answers from some external authority figure.” Everything they teach is about guiding you to internalize those things. It’s about showing, not telling.
So expecting it to “make sense” in the lens of “just let me read a book that will tell me what to believe” is already starting from the wrong foot.
If you meet the Buddha on the road, tell him I said hi.
If you meet Buddha on the road, fucking shank that bitch, he owes me $20
Are you the hot dog guy?
Sure thing
Rinzai Zen to be specific. Soto Zen doesnt emphasize koans.
It’s also Chan Zen.