What caused the scars on the Dalai Lama's arm?

February 7, 2008 2:20 AM

What made the scars on the Dalai Lama's arm?

Check this out:

http://www.lobsangwangyal.com/images/photos/2006/20061104-dalai_lama_teaching_miyajima-print.jpg

Does anyone know what made the scars on the Dalai Lama's right arm? Years ago I knew a Japanese Buddhist monk who had scars on his arm that had been made during a ritual that involved tying burning incense to his arm. Is there such a ritual in Tibetan Buddhism? Is that what made these scars?

Thanks.

posted by arcadia to religion & philosophy (7 comments total)

hard to tell if those are scars, birthmarks or other blemishes, but yes the incense scarring ritual exists in Tibetan buddhism. sometimes a double row of burns is made in the shaved scalp, as well as in the arms.
posted by randomstriker at 2:29 AM on February 7

until someone with more definitive info come along...and I don't claim to be an expert, but I did study Tibetan Buddhism both academically (9 university hours) and, for lack of a better word, religiously, (a year, with one of the Dali Lama's American translators) and have never heard of any such ritual within Tibetan Buddhism. I always assumed these were birthmarks,or, perhaps, scars from his younger days when he was quite physically inquisitive.
However I now want to know for sure, so I'll ask the rinpoche next week...if that helps.
posted by dawson at 3:08 AM on February 7

My mother has 4 scars like that on her thigh from a vaccination she received probably in the 50's - can't remember what for (small pox?) - she's about the same age.
posted by strawberryviagra at 3:28 AM on February 7

Mr Taff says they're BCG vaccination scars..... Tuberculosis. When I was living in Dharamsala I noticed almost everyone had them. Well, all the monks and nuns anyway. You don't really see the upper arms of other folk there.

Mr Taff has them too. I've got one, but I was told by my mother is was small pox. But then my mother was a bit of a nincompoop.

Hope this helps.



OOOOOOh... if you're wondering why it's relevant that Mr Taff's opinion matters, he's Tibetan, and comes from the same town as His Holiness. Oh, and he was undersecretary at the Department of Health of the Tibetan government in exile. And he has a science degree.

In short, I believe him.
posted by taff at 3:46 AM on February 7 [12 favorites]

"Now 63, Kundun shows little evidence of these distinguishing features, just deep vaccination scars on his shoulder and right arm revealed from beneath his maroon robes."

The Guardian, London. Saturday May 8, 1999.
posted by ZeroDivides at 4:59 AM on February 7

For what it's worth, both my parents (now in the 65-80 year range) had double vertical scars on their upper arms from vaccinations. I can't find a good photo on teh interwebs, but they looked rather like blisters after they had broken--sorta puckered around the edges, with more "traditional" scar-like tissue in the center. One above the other, about 2 inches apart, both about the size of a dime. Can't tell from the photo if what's visible on the Dalai Lama is similar (the olive complexion might react differently to that of my Northern European parents, as well).
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 6:31 AM on February 7

Anyone under the age of about 45 never experienced this, but on the first day of school, usually in the first grade, each child was inspected for the dime sized smallpox vaccination scar on the back of their left upper arm. If you didn't have the scar, you couldn't attend school. Routine smallpox vaccinations in the U.S. ended in 1971.
posted by JackFlash at 9:26 AM on February 7