Ellora Caves Accept Walking Meditations Advocated by Thich Nhat Hanh

Summary: The Ellora Caves afford ample areas for applying appropriate aspects of walking meditations advocated by Thich Nhat Hanh amid the ancient architectural artistry of cave temples in Maharashtra state, western peninsular India.

Depictions of Buddha at Ellora Caves present the great spiritual teacher with a half smile, with a near-closed mouth, which is also an essential component of walking meditations popularized by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat HanhThich: Nhat Hanh @thichnhathanh, via Facebook Dec. 8, 2019

Thich Nhat Hanh brings walking meditations into Plum Tradition practice and training centers in Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand; California, Mississippi, New York; and France and Germany.

Walking traditions correlate, for conscious contemplation of mindful moments, balanced belly diaphragmatic breathing; half-smiling, near-closed mouths; and steps counted in coordination with incoming and outgoing breaths. Balanced belly diaphragmatic breathing directs atmospheric oxygen through both nostrils, except in alternate-nostril respiration prefatory to yogic meditation, for diffusion into air sacs and blood vessels.

Thich Nhat Hanh explains, in Walking Meditation, that "your breath, your steps, your counting, and your half-smile all blend together in a marvelous balance of mindfulness."

Painted and sculpted figures of Gautama Buddha (from Sanskrit गोतम, "brightness [dispels] darkness" and बुद्ध, "awakened") frequently feature closed or near-closed, half-smiling mouths and half-closed eyed.

The Buddhist grottoes, as Ellora Caves 1 through 12, generally give the Buddhist genitor (624 B.C.E.?-544 B.C.E.?) in cross-legged, padmasana (from Sanskrit पद्मासन, "lotus seat") position. They also have the former Siddhartha (from Sanskrit सिद्धार्थ, "successful") in the pralambapadasana (from Sanskrit प्रलम्ब, "[legs] dangling [European-like on]," पद, "foot" and आसन, "seat") position. Cross-legged sessions imply Sakya Prince Siddhartha Gautama's enlightening, 49-day meditation under a bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa) in order to initiate 45 enlightened years as Gautama Buddha.

Abhayamudra (from Sanskrit अभय, "fearlessness" and मुद्रा, "[right-handed] sign [upright, palms outward]") justifies dangling-legged, pendant (from Latin pendant, "hanging") over cross-legged positions in the Ellora Caves.

Vitarkamudra (from Sanskrit वितर्क, "discussion" and मुद्रा, "sign") teaching gestures, with specifically positioned fingers, like fearless assurances, kindle dangling-legged over cross-legged positions in the Ellora Caves.

Thich Nhat Hanh links Plum Village Tradition sitting meditations to what itinerant artisans and merchants learned by looking upon seated Buddha sculptures in the Ellora Caves. Sitting meditations, and walking meditations around painted, sculpted seated Buddhas, manifest his Noble Eightfold Path's right understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration. His numbering the eight nobilities net noteworthy painted, sculpted representations of Gautama Buddha at the neighboring Ajanta Caves, 60 miles (96.56 kilometers) from the Ellora Caves.

Cave temple paintings and sculptures that offer the standing Buddha as observing walking meditations occur perhaps more famously in the Ajanta Caves than the Ellora Caves.

The Ellora Caves, like the Ajanta Caves, present sculpted standing bodhisattva (from Sanskrit बोधि, "perfect knowledge" and सत्त्व, "essence") reincarnations in the process of walking meditations.

The Bamyan valley in central Afghanistan's Hazarajat region, not the Ajanta Caves nor the Ellora Caves, queued world-famous standing Buddhas until their destruction March 2, 2001. The Ajanta Caves retain perhaps the most famous painted, sculpted supine (from Latin supīnus, "lying down backward [with face upward]") Buddha realization that represents reclining meditations. The Plum Village Tradition mindfulness centers of Thich Nhat Hanh support sitting, standing, suping and walking meditations as safely as the Ellora Caves sustain walking meditations.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Centre tallies of 40-member temple tour maximums turn walking meditations into tackleable tasks at the Ellora Caves.

Ellora Caves offer opportunities for meditative repose and walking in nature; Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, western peninsular India; Saturday, Sep. 1, 2012, 11:39:43: Shreyank Gupta ($rink), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Depictions of Buddha at Ellora Caves present the great spiritual teacher with a half smile, with a near-closed mouth, which is also an essential component of walking meditations popularized by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat HanhThich: Nhat Hanh @thichnhathanh, via Facebook Dec. 8, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh/posts/10157041354239635

Ellora Caves offer opportunities for meditative repose and walking in nature; Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, western peninsular India; Saturday, Sep. 1, 2012, 11:39:43: Shreyank Gupta ($rink), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/shreyankg/7925663462/

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