SIGNIFICANCE OF NUMBER 5
booklet compiled by Lalitha Venkat for Anita Ratnam (Artistic Director, Arangham Dance Theatre)
Source: Internet
BUDDHISM
* With the Buddhists the last incarnation is the fifth. When
Maitree-Buddha comes, then our present world will be destroyed; and a
new and a better one will replace it.
* Buddhists believe the heart has four directions - the heart
center makes five, symbolizing universality. This idea is also
symbolized by the Sacred Mountains surrounded by the four islands.
* There are five Dhyani Buddhas: Vairocana, the Brilliant, who is
represented by the wheel, the witness; Akshobhya, the Imperturbable,
with vajra, the East and blue; Ratnasambhava, the Jewel-born, jewel,
South, yellow; Amitabha, Boundless Light, lotus, West, red;
Amoghasiddhi, Infallible success, sword, North, green.
* The five commandments of Buddha Gautama: To abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication.
* Five chakras in the body-of-light (gyalu) according to the
Tibetan Buddhist system with their corresponding colours: white, red,
blue, yellow and green.
* Five kayas of fruition: According to Padmasambhava, the aspects
of enlightenment are: The perfection of the benefit of oneself
(peaceful dharmakaya), the spontaneous present for the benefit of others
(unified samboghakaya), the manifold skillful means to tame beings
(nirmanakaya), the distinct and unmixed appearance (true bodhikaya) and
the unified or one-taste as Emptiness (vajrakaya).
* Five Paths of Buddhism: Shravakayana (Way of the Hearers) and
Pratyekakaya are the 2 besides Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana.
* Five poisons or pancha-klesha A.k.a. obscurations, contaminants,
afflictions of human nature. They are: confusion (Skt.: moha),
pride (mana), envy (irsya), hatred (dvesha), and desire (raga).
Buddhism also distinguishes five great evils: ignorance, anger, desire,
malevolence and envy.
* Five obstacles or hindrances:
i. Attraction or desire (Kamachachhanda)
ii. Aversion or hatred (Vyapada)
iii. Slothfulness (Thinamiddha)
iv. Arrogance and suspiciousness (Uddhachcha-Kukuchcha)
v. Doubt or uncertainty concerning triratna (Vichikichah).
* Five major disasters: war, epidemics, famine, pollution and poverty.
* Five wisdoms: of dharmadhatu, the mirror-like, of equality, the discriminating and the all-accomplishing.
* 5 Forms of Desire or Qualities of Enjoyment (pancha kamaguna) -
Items symbolic of the senses remind us how susceptible we are to
craving:
Fruit (T. shing-tog, Skt. phala) represents sweet taste.
Incense Burner (T. spos-snod) as a shell container with pleasant fumes arising.
Mirror (T. me-long, Skt. adarsha) like our eye, it captures form.
Lute (T. pi-wang, Skt. vina) sweet sound impinges on our ears delighting the mind.
Silk (T. dar, Skt. netra) evokes smooth, cool touch.
In the Hindu system, whence they appear to have been derived, these Five
Objects of Enjoyment correspond in symbolism, in their order as given
here, to the Sanskrit Rasa (Taste), Gandha (Smell), Rupa (Form or
Sight), Shabda (Sound or Hearing), and Sparsha (Touch or Feelings).
Sometimes the last two are combined, as in an image of a pair of cymbals
connected by a silk ribbon.
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