The Snail Martyrs

There is a later legend that when the Buddha was sitting under the Bodhi tree he was so deep in meditation that he was unaware that it was extremely hot. A group of snails saw him and realising the importance of his thoughts, crawled up to cover and protect his head with their bodies. The snails died from exposure to the hot sun and became honoured as martyrs who had died to protect the Buddha. In some images of the Buddha, his hair curls do indeed resemble snails to remind people of this story.


(Tekst afkomstig van de site van het Victoria and Albert Museum. Levende slak op Boeddhahoofd aangetroffen in een Arnhemse achtertuin.)