[Buddha-l] Dharmapala

[Artur Karp]

2010/7/17 Dan Lusthaus <vasubandhu at earthlink.net>:

> This monk, ven. Vimaladhajja, explains further "that stories of  Duṭugāmuṇu
> [ = Duṭṭhagāmaṇī] the second-century BCE Sinhalese king who conquered the
> ancient capital of Anurādhapura from the South Indian king Eḷāra, are the
> most appropriate for soldiers. Duṭugāmuṇu, whose name literally means
> "Gāmuṇu the Fierce," is said to have led his armies carrying a spear
> festooned with a relic of the Buddha. [In a note Kent cites Gethin to the
> effect that the word translated as "spear", kunta, "probably referred to a
> banner and not to a weapon at all." p. 175 n.7) Am I the only one for whom
> this evokes images of Constantine?


The Holy Lance (Sancta et Crucifera Imperialis Lancea); Poland has an
early copy among its regalia.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Maurycy.jpg/120px-Maurycy.jpg


Re: politically motivated anachronistic use of culture elements. In
his grand patriotic painting of the Grunwald Battle (15.VII.1410) Jan
Matejko (1838-1893) put The Lance in the hands of a common warrior. It
is The Lance that is going to kill Ulrich von Jungingen, the Grand
Master of the Teutonic Order.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Grunwald_bitwa.jpg

http://i.wp.pl/a/f/jpeg/23456/grunwald460.jpeg


Regards,

Artur K.