Dateline 22 October 2013

Spotted at Bukit Brown by Raymond Goh while bush bashing, a grave with 4 statues, each carrying a child.

(photo Raymond Goh)

The tomb with the 4 statues belong to a Mdm Fong (photo Raymond Goh)

(photo Raymond Goh

Pat SG  from the facebook group Heritage Singapore Bukit Brown cemetery has identified them as  Baby Buddha in Old Monk’s Arms, symbolising:

Infinity ∞ : Beginning ⇔ End ]

1) BIRTH/ EXISTENCE
Baby Buddha statue (Japan):
http://www.travelwithval.com/…/2012/01/Baby-Buddha.jpg

2) CONSCIOUSNESS
Baby has the sign of the snake (Naga) on his scalp. (Baby appears to be dozing, but how do you know he isn’t meditating & contemplating ?)

Note that the mediating adult Buddha is typically depicted as being surrounded by snakes, or with the Naga sheltering & protecting him from the elements.

* Buddha Statue (Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya):
http://cdn2.biharprabha.com/…/uploads/2011/07/muchlind.jpg

3) CRADLE OF BEGINNING OF CYCLE
Old (& hopefully wiser) monk is the custodian of enlightenment & wisdom-in-waiting. This is akin to how the new moon is cradled in the old moon’s arms during the the start of every lunar cycle (a process that repeats itself continuously).

* New moon in old moon’s arms: http://astrobob.areavoices.com/…

4) CYCLE OF EXISTENCES
http://en.wikipedia.org/…
* Saṃsāra = cyclic existence, “continual repetitive cycle of birth and death [arising] from ordinary beings’ grasping and fixating on a self and [on] experiences”

5) CYCLE OF BUDDHAS
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=28_Buddhas
“The Buddha was not the first Buddha, nor the last.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/…
“The 28 Buddhas described in the Buddhavamsa are not the only Buddhas believed to have existed. Indeed, Gautama Buddha taught that innumerable Buddhas have lived in past kalpas.”
)