Khakkhara

Khakkhara

Khakkhara ( Sanskrit खक्खर), or Xizhang ( Chinese  錫杖  /  锡杖 , Pinyin xīzhàng , Japanese 錫杖shakujō , "pewter stick") is a priest stick of a Buddhist monk made of wood to which rings (4, 6 or 12) made of metal were attached, in order to drive reptiles away from the monk's path by the noise it makes while hiking.

In order to comply with their principle of non-killing (ahimsa), the monks used the khakkhara on their wanderings. But it was also used for defense, to make noticeable and as a walking stick. In mythology, the khakkhara was a symbol (mudrū) for driving away demons.

literature

• Werner Lind : The dictionary of martial arts . Sportverlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-328-00898-5 .
• Serge Mol: Classical Weaponry of Japan. Kodansha International, Tokyo and London 1970-2003, ISBN 978-4770029416 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).

Web links

Commons : Khakkhara  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• "one of the 18 things a Buddhist monk should carry with him" , detailed YouTube explanation (English)