What do turtles and pigeons mean in Buddhism?

Turtles and Buddhist scriptures often compare the Buddha's nature of life and death to nirvana, saying that the Buddha can swim in the sea of nirvana, just as turtles can swim on water and land. In addition, the Buddhist scriptures say that "a turtle hides six", and scholars should keep six, just like a turtle keeps its head, tail and four feet.

Turtle hidden six: 1, hiding the head, metaphorically speaking, all beings close their eyes, do not look at the color, and are not harmed by all color dust.

2. Before hiding your left foot, it is a metaphor for all beings to close their ears, not to hear the sound, and not to be harmed by all the noise and dust.

3, hiding the front right foot, metaphorically speaking, all beings collect their nose roots, do not smell incense, and are not harmed by all fragrant dust.

4, hiding the left foot, metaphorically speaking, all beings gather the root of the tongue, and if they don't taste it, they won't harm the dust.

5. After hiding the right foot, it is a metaphor that all beings receive their roots, do not feel, and are not harmed by all dust.

6. hiding the tail is a metaphor for all beings. If they don't know the law, they won't be hurt by all the legal dust.

Pigeons represent greedy troubles. It is also an animal often seen in Buddhist classics, such as the "five-breath wheel of life and death", which shows the reincarnation image of all beings in hell, hungry ghosts, animals and human beings.

Extended data

Pigeons and Buddhas

There was a big country in ancient India, with fertile land and well-fed people who lived and worked in peace and contentment. The king's name is King Pippi. He is a king with a broad mind and loves his people like a child. He is good at believing in Buddhism and vows to save all beings.

One day, an eagle is chasing a pigeon. The eagle followed the pigeon closely, and the pigeon was in danger. It flies around and has nowhere to hide. Finally, it flew to the armpit of the corpse and asked the king for protection.

The eagle couldn't catch the pigeon, so he said to King Peeby, "This pigeon is my food, and I'm starving now. Please give it to me. " King Bibi said, "I swore to save all living things, and now pigeons seek protection." How can I come out of the ruins and let it die? "

The eagle laughed and said, "since your majesty loves all beings, if I can't eat, I will starve to death." Shouldn't I be saved? " King Pi said, "I can give you something else to eat." The eagle replied, "I only eat strange flesh and blood, and I don't eat any other food." ?

The corpse king thought, I can't save one life and kill another. It seems that only by exchanging my meat for pigeons can we save two lives at the same time.

So he ordered his men to take a sharp knife and cut off the meat from his leg and feed it to the eagle, but the eagle said, "Since the king wants to replace the pigeon with his own meat, I dare not ask for more, as long as the meat is as heavy as the pigeon."

The corpse Wang Pi sent someone to fetch a steelyard, put pigeons at one end and cut the meat at the other.

Strangely, all the meat on the king's body was cut off, but it was still not as heavy as the pigeon. The king was very puzzled, so he endured severe pain and sat down on the scale with difficulty.

At this time, the heavens and the earth shook, and the gods were moved by the charity of the corpse Wang Pu to save all beings, praising them in unison and scattering countless smallpox.

Suddenly, the eagle and pigeon disappeared. It turned out that Indra and his ministers became eagles and pigeons to test the sincerity and confidence of the corpse king Bi. Indra finally restored Pik's body to its original state with divine power.

Reference: Phoenix Buddhism-Revealing the Mysterious Meaning of 24 Animals in Buddhist Scriptures