Arhat Kaccana (Phra Sangkachai)
Material: Jade
Origin: Thailand
Height: 7.5 cm
Code: TS-020
Phra Sangkachai is the common name in Thailand for Arhat Kaccana who is known for composing the Madhupindika Sutta. He was also praised by the Buddha for his exceptional ability in explaining sophisticated concepts of the Dharma in a simple and easily understandable way. He possessed this unique quality as a result of an aspiration made in one of his previous lives as a clansman at the time of Buddha Padumuttara. One day, he went to the monastery and stood at the edge of the audience listening to a sermon. Seeing the Buddha declared someone as foremost among those who were good at elaborately and analytically preaching the Dharma which had been spoken of in brief, it occurred to him thus: “This monk is supreme indeed! He was praised by the Exalted One as the best among those who can elaborate and teach in detail what is briefly taught by the Buddha, I too should become a monk with such a title in the dispensation of a future Buddha.” So thinking, he invited the Buddha and performed a grand offering (dana) for seven days in the way mentioned above. “Exalted One,” said the man, “as a result of seven days of the grand offering, I do not wish for any other bliss but to be the foremost like the monk, who, seven days ago, being declared as the best among those who can elaborately and analytically speak what has been briefly spoken.” Having said thus, he prostrated at the feet of the Buddha. When the Buddha Padumuttara surveyed the future, He saw that the clansman’s wish would be fulfilled. He therefore prophesied saying: “O friend clansman, at the end of a hundred aeons from now, there will appear Buddha Gotama. In His dispensation, you will become the foremost among those monks who are able to expound in detail the meaning of the doctrines taught briefly.” This was how Arhat Kaccana possessed this quality.
If his appearance of a fat monk arouses curiosity, it was claimed that Arhat Kaccana was actually a very handsome man with a golden hue on his body, so much so that the heavenly and human beings compared him with Buddha Sakyamuni. Kaccanamanava, a name given by his parents, means the “young man with golden colored skin”. The reason for Arhat Kaccana’s attractive appearance could be traced back to one of his previous lives at the time of Buddha Kassapa. When Buddha Kassapa went into parinirvana, a golden monument was built. He donated bricks of gold worth a hundred thousand coins in honour of the Buddha and made an aspiration: “Glorious Buddha, in whichever plane of existence I am born may the colour of my body be gold”. As it is utterly inappropriate to compare his appearance with that of the Buddha, Arhat Kaccana disguised himself with a fat body.
(source: Wisdom library)