Wat Rajasittharam Ordination Hall: Life of the Buddha - Metaphor of the Three-Stringed Instrument

THAILAND, Bangkok; Bangkok period

This mural in the ordination hall of the Wat Rajasittharam in Thailand depicts Sakra explaining the metaphor of the three-stringed instrument to Prince Siddhartha. When the prince became feeble due to his austere ascetic practices, Sakra descended to the world to point out that when playing a three-stringed instrument, the strings should not be too lose or too tight, hinting that one should follow the middle path between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-denial. The metaphor of the three-stringed instrument is also recorded in the Samyukta Agama, in which Sronakotivimsa is said to have given up monastic life after practicing zealously but failing to attain enlightenment. When the Buddha used the metaphor to explain the middle path, Sronakotivimsa, who had been a musician, understood immediately, resumed his practice, and eventually became an Arhat.
Prince Siddhartha is portrayed reclining on his right side on a red rock in the forest, weak from fasting and constant practice. In most Thai paintings of scenes from the Life of the Buddha, the prince wears royal attire, but here he is dressed in a simple monastic robe. Sakra kneels on the right, playing a three-stringed instrument. Below the Buddha, a group of five monks in orange robes talk and point towards Sakra. The figures are surrounded by detailed trees and rocks painted in dark tones that emphasize the remoteness of the forest. Trees and birds stand in clearings; monkeys hang from the trees on the right.