INFORMATION       

Four Face Buddha (Pak Phom)

Since the period of more than 5,000 years ago, the disciple of Brahmana had paid homage to Pak Phom as their highest esteemed God in their religion. The Brahamana religion was known to be one of the religion that had the longest history. This religion was mainly symbolized by 3 major God i.e. God Brahma, God Vishu and God Siva, which also form the main body of the religion. The originality of this Trinity was that the Brahmana religion believed that these 3 Gods combined their powers to create this Buddhist world (Earth is part of it).

1. BRAHMA: Creator of the world and all things.

2. VISHU: Preserver of all things.

3. SIVA: Destoryer that makes all things exist and perish according to natural cycles.

The wives of each of these 3 Gods are also their capable assistants and great Goddess, who helped in the creation of the world. The wife of Brahma is named Sarava which means the Goddess of great wisdom, her feature is known to be a Goddess riding on a heaven swan.

In Buddhist Literature, Brahma was also described as the great Brahma. During such time, though, Buddhism was prevalent, the practices of Brahmana religion were also accepted by Buddhism, and as a result both were able to exist in harmony.

The feature of Great Brahma was a God with 4 faces and 4 pair of hands. Many innocent people knew him as the 4-face Buddha. In fact in the record of Buddhist literature, he belongs to the class of God and not Buddha, therefore it will be more proper to call him 4 faces God or the Great Brahma.

Method of worship: Worshippers may pray to the buddha with joss sticks and also fruits or flowers to the buddha.

Front view: Business and Wealth

Left hand side: Wisdom

Back view: Health

Right hand side: Relationship and interpersonal

Prayer for the great brahma- pra phom

Omkarabindunatam uppannam brohmasaha-patinama atikappe su, a, kato pancapatunam tisva namobuddhaya vandanam. Siddha kiccam siddhi kammam siddhi kariya tadakato siddhi tecojayoniccam siddhi labho nirantaram sabbakammam prasiddhime sabbasiddhi bhavantu me.

The significance of the 4 faces of the Great Brahma was to offer help to all cry from all directions to attend to any slightest request for help, to see to it that everything was just and fair, to release all mood and gloom of the human behavior as wished.

It was also believed that there were specific significant in the religious items held by the hands of the posture. Each religious item significance was interpreted as follow:

1) Book:              Represents knowledge

2) Bead:              Represents Control Karma

3) Spear Stick:    Represents will power

4) Flower Vase:   Represents blessing water (all requests are fulfilled)

5) Conch Shell:   Represents offer of wealth

6) Mystic position of hand placed on chest:  Represents offering compassion

7) Flying wheel:  Represents clearing of disaster and calamities, suppress evil, release all gloominess and worries; Cakka

8) Cinta Mani:     Represents Almighty power of Buddha.

As for the legends about Brahma there are more than the total number of legends of his partners. Among them, some are glorifying while some are destructive libels that make everyone condemnes, and some are deliberate exaggerated mystery.

One of the exaggerated mystery known of as commonly used by tourist guides who tried to use it as propaganda and even a movie, "Demons Rearing" shown here before, also has the same portray in the script.

It said that if one hope to have the wishes fulfilled, then one should get a female strip-tease dancer in front of God Brahma as offer. This was not only misleading, also it was sinful, offensive and disrespect to God Brahma. It is hope that all merciful and ever responsive Great Brahma will extend to these people, his generous pardon and forgiveness.

In many places in Asia, many people like to pay homage to Brahma and in recent years, because of the properous developments of commerce and industry in Hong Kong and Singapore, and also due to the Thai Buddhism religious culture being widespread, many people who been to Thailand have brought back Buddhist image for worship and Brahma is one of those favourite being worshipped. Other than Hong Kong and Singapore, Brahma can be in many places in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei etc. Now, Brahma is no longer restricted to be worshipped in Indian temples only.

The power of Brahma: Give help to important duty preservation of land and properties, rescue when life is in danger, prosper industry

Some of the fundamentals of the teachings of Gautama Buddha are:

• The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an inherent part of existence; that the origin of suffering is ignorance and the main symptoms of that ignorance are attachment and craving; that attachment and craving can be ceased; and that following the Noble Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of attachment and craving and therefore suffering.
• The Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

According to tradition, the Buddha emphasized ethics and correct understanding. He questioned the average person's notions of divinity and salvation. He stated that there is no intermediary between mankind and the divine; distant gods are subjected to karma themselves in decaying heavens; and the Buddha is solely a guide and teacher for the sentient beings who must tread the path of Nirva?a (Pali: Nibbana) themselves to attain the spiritual awakening called bodhi and see truth and reality as it is. The Buddhist system of insight and meditation practice is not believed to have been revealed divinely, but by the understanding of the true nature of the mind, which must be discovered by personally treading a spiritual path guided by the Buddha's teachings