The depiction of the Weeping Buddha (also known as Yogiman or Orang Malu in Indonesian tradition) is a familiar one. His origin and symbolism however might not be well-known to all.
The history of the Weeping Buddha takes place in a past life of Siddharta Gautama, later known as the 'original' Buddha Shakyamuni. In this past life Siddharta was a warrior, who had been away to war for a long time. Upon returning home, he found that there was also war going on in his neighborhood and launched himself into a fight with a masked opponent. The fight went on for many days, after which Siddharta finally conquered and slayed his unknown opponent and took off his mask, revealing the face of his beloved son...
After this incident, he renounced all violence and started proclaiming the virtue of compassion. The depiction of the Weeping Man shows the Buddha in the enormous grief and sorrow after killing his own son. This can be extrapolated into him grieving over the suffering of the entire world; out of compassion he takes upon him all sorrows of humanity, internalizes and neutralizes them and radiates peace and happiness back into the world.
A statue of a Weeping Man should be placed next to the main entrance of the house, with its face towards the door. All visitors are invited to stroke the head or back of the Buddha, who is said to then take over all their negative emotions and unpleasant thoughts, thus allowing only good intentions and positive energy to enter into the household.
The way in which he has been depicted however, has many more symbolism in it. When looking at it from behind, the shape resembles that of a heart, reminding us that true happiness and peace can always be found within. And when looking at it from a certain angle at the frontside, one can distinguish a laughing face (when seeing the hands as teeth, the elbows as ears and the head as nose).
This statue of the Weeping Buddha is made of suar wood and measures approximately 10 centimeters diameter in all directions. It weighs 247 grams.
Only one available.
