Finger-cutting Buddha's right hand originally had several fingers pointing upwards.

The Buddha's right hand had three fingers pointing upwards.

As one of the most famous cave temple landscapes in China, Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang has always attracted many tourists. Longmen Grottoes were excavated during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, reaching its peak in the Tang Dynasty and continuing until the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is understood that this Buddha statue is located in the North Cave of Binyang, carved in the early years of Tang Gaozong, with its left hand drooping and its right hand sticking out three fingers. However, due to the destruction of the thumb, the gesture presented is very similar to "scissorhands".

Lu Wei, director of the Research Center of Longmen Grottoes Research Institute, said that the right hand of the statue was originally with the thumb, forefinger and middle finger pointing upwards, but it was later destroyed. The thumb is broken 1 joint, and there is a distance between the index finger and the middle finger, so it is interpreted by netizens as "scissors hand", which is a rare Buddhist handprint.

The origin of the name of Longmen Grottoes

According to the "Notes on Water Classics", "In the past, the water opened the dragon gate, and the two mountains were opposite. If you look at it, the water will pass through it, so it is called one of them. " Longmen, also known as yique, is opposite to the east and west mountains, and the Yi River flows through it, looking like a natural gate from a distance, so it was called "yique" in ancient times. "There are broken mountains and cliffs on both sides of the strait, which are relatively like doors, but dragons can cross them, so they are called Longmen."

Emperor Yang Di of the Sui Dynasty once climbed Mangshan Mountain in the north of Luoyang, and saw Yique in the south of Luoyang from a distance, so he said to his entourage, "Isn't this the gateway of the real dragon emperor? Why didn't the ancients build their capital here? " A minister replied obsequiously, "The ancients didn't know, just waiting for your majesty." Yang Di was very happy when he heard this, so he built the Tokyo City of the Sui Dynasty in Luoyang. The main entrance of the palace Wei Zicheng was Tianmen, facing Yi Que. Since then, I have become accustomed to being called Longmen.

Baidu encyclopedia-Longmen grottoes