while Kanchanaburi forest can access to Himmapan.
Makaliporn (Picture 2) is a type of mythical plant in Himmapan.
Picture 2. Makaliporn (Reference picture)
What is Makaliporn?
Makaliporn, also known as Nariphon is a tree in Buddhist mythology
which bears fruit in the shape of young female creatures. The
maidens grow attached by their head from the tree branches.
This tree grows at the Himmapan, a mythical forest where the
female fruits are enjoyed by the Gandharvas who cut the fruits and take them away.
The Nariphon is also mentioned in the Vessantara Jataka in which
Indra placed these trees around the grove where the Bodhisattva Vessantara meditated.
Origin of Makaliporn
To understand the origins of Makaliporn we must go back to the Vessantara Jataka,
the story of the Bodhisatta's final birth. Legend has it that a very long time ago,
during
the era of Vipassi Buddha in the previous kappa (aeon), there was a
virtuous woman named Phussati who offered the fragrant heartwood of
sandalwood to the Buddha.
After the offering she made a wish to become the mother of a future Buddha.
Vipassi Buddha blessed her so that her wish would come true.
Having received the blessing, Phussati was later reborn as the
consort of Indra, King of the Tavatimsa heaven. Indra learned of Phussati's
previous wish, so when her deva lifespan was about to end,
he allowed her to ask for another blessing.Phussati asked for 10 blessings
and they were duly granted by Indra (seen in the above mural).
So Phussati passed away from the Tavatimsa and was reborn as a noble
lady in the human realm with the very same name. She would also become the
Queen of King Sanjaya. When she was Queen but still had no offspring yet,
Indra invited the Bodhisattato take birth in Phussati's womb as her son,
in accordance with her past wish. This son was none other than
Prince Vessantara. It would be in this final existence that the Bodhisatta
succeed in bringing his Dana Parami to perfection.
Indra then used his psychic powers to create a forest hermitage in the
Himmapan Forest, a mystical place not far from the Himalayas,
for Prince Vessantara and his exiled family to stay in the future.
Furthermore, Indra created 16 Makaliporn (Makkaliphala) trees around the hermitage.
Makaliporn were magical trees created for 2 purposes.
1. The first was as a Dhamma-riddle.
Yogis, Gandhabhas (heavenly musicians) and other deities residing
in the forest who have not overcome their sexual lust would
be tempted to make love with the beautiful Makaliporn.
If they do so, they would sink into a 4-month long coma,
after which they would wake up and lose all their cultivation and powers.
The second was to protect the royal family.
Vessantara's wife Lady Madri would be able to pick fruits in the forest without
being harassed, as the lust-filled group would be totally absorbed with the 16
fascinating Makaliporn trees. As such, the Makaliporn trees did not bloom
seasonally, but only when Madri went out to pick fruits. When the tree
blossomed there would be many bunches of Makaliporn fruits,
with 5 girls in a bunch. In 3 days the Makaliporn would start to menstruate,
a sign that they were already "mature".
They would then sing and dance on the tree the whole day,
attracting those lust-filled group towards themselves. These
people would fly up to the bunches of Makaliporn and have a good time
with them, only to be made unconscious after having sex. Those Yogis
who have not attained the power to fly would not be able to do so,
but they could wait below the trees for the whole bunch of Makaliporn to
ripen and drop down in 4 days time, after which they would be able to
pick them up. Altogether from blossoming to ripening and dropping
the Makaliporn lasted for 7 days.
These 16 Makaliporn trees along with the hermitage are still there today
in the Himmapan Forest, but only Yogis who have attained the Jhanas
could gain access into this mystical place. They would continue to be
there until the teachings of the Buddha disappear from the world.
Besides those in the Himmapan Forest, there are also other types of
Makaliporn trees existing in other parts of the world, as some of the
Forest Monks have seen during their Dhutanga wanderings.
According to Thai folklore, since Vessantara and his family have died,
the trees bear fruit daily. The special forest, trees and sala will disappear
when the Buddha's teachings have become lost, predicted to be five
thousand years after his death. When these fruit appear on the trees
they are like beautiful 16 year old girls and they will last for seven days,
following which they will wither and die if they are not picked up. In the
heavenly realms males and females are eternally youthful and, since
there is no suffering, there is no ageing. They have same internal
organs as humans, but no bones. These maidens have also magic
powers and possess spirits which can sing and dance.
Above and below we can see the dried, shrunken remains of 2 Makaliporn
kept by LP Jarun of Wat Ampawan. These are the original ones from
Himavana Forest, given to him by the son of an abbot of a temple in Lopburi.
The abbot have received these 2 Makaliporn as a gift from a wandering Yogi
who have been to the forest. He has since passed away. Besides these
two makaliporn, LP Jarun had also seen a freshly picked-up Makaliporn
in Sigiriya Hill, Sri Lanka, kept by a black-robed monk living in a cave there.
LP Jarun mentioned that at that time it was as big as a 16-year old
human girl, very pretty, completely naked, has long blond hair and
large bluish eyes with golden pupils, perhaps not unlike a Westerner.
It also has a stalk on the top of its head like amangosteen. This was
how it looked like while still on the tree. But apparently it would start
to decay soon after dropping down to the earth, slowly shrinking and
drying up until all that is left is what we see above.
These 2 highly decayed Makaliporn are now the size of our palms.
Strangely enough, despite its condition, the Makaliporn still possess
organs like the heart, intestines, lungs and stomach inside their
shrivelled bodies, just like a human being. This was discovered by
a doctor from Siriraj Hospital, who asked permission from LP
to operate on one of the Makaliporn.
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