The Asian elephant (
gaja,
hatthin
or
nāga) is a large land
animal with thick grey skin,
large ears and an elongated, prehensile nose
called a trunk. It would be wrong to say
that the elephant is 'sacred' in Buddhism in
the sense that the creature is believed to
have any special spiritual or holy
significance. However, the ancient Buddhists
noticed and were impressed by the fact that
elephants could be trained by humans, beings
many times smaller than themselves, by their
thoughtful, deliberate behaviour, their
patience and their intelligence.
Consequently, throughout the
Tipitaka,the Buddha and other
enlightened people are often compared with
elephants.
When
Dona encountered the Buddha
sitting at the foot of a
tree he appeared 'beautiful,
faith-inspiring, with calm senses and serene
mind, utterly composed and controlled like a
tamed, alert, perfectly-trained
elephant'(A.II,36). The Buddha never looked
over his shoulder when he wanted to see
behind him but turned around completely the
way an elephant does. This was called his
'elephant look' (D.II,122). In one
remarkable poem in the scriptures, the
Buddha's virtues are compared with the
various parts of a noble and majestic
elephant. 'Gentleness and harmlessness are
his front legs; simplicity and celibacy are
the hind legs. Faith is his trunk,
equanimity his white tusks, mindfulness his
neck and wisdom, his head .... Dhamma is his
belly and solitude his tail. Meditating,
focusing on his breath and being utterly
composed, this mighty elephant walks, stands
and sits with composure, he is perfectly
trained and completely attained.'
(A.III,346-7).
The Buddha had a special fondness for elephants
judging by how often he referred to them. He
seems to have been impressed by their
intelligence, their mindful, deliberate
behaviour and particularly the males' penchant
for living alone in the jungle. He said, 'On
this matter the enlightened sage and the
elephant with tusks as long as plough poles
agree, they both love the solitude of the
forest.' (Ud.42). In some ways the Buddha even
considered them better than humans. The elephant
trainer Pessa once said to him: 'Humans are a
tangle while animals are straightforward. I can
drive an elephant undergoing training and in the
time it takes to make a trip to and from Campa,
that elephant will exhibit every kind of
stubbornness, truculence and trickery. But our
servants, messengers and employees, they say one
thing, do another and think something else.' The
Buddha agreed with Pessa (M.I,340). Perhaps the
Buddha's most delightful and well-known parable
is about the
blind men and the elephant (Ud.68-9).
