In Sri Lanka, Buddhists perform comparable rites. In
the presence of a superior, one joins the hands in reverence,
bows or kneels, and even touches the ground with the fore-
head or touches the feet of the person saluted. Similar rever-
ence is accorded images of the Buddha and other holy fig-
ures. The “eye festival,” which is held on completion of an
image of the Buddha, is an elaborate ritual performed to en-
sure that the gaze of the image does not fall directly on the
craftsman who paints in the eyes. He looks into a mirror to
see the eyes as he paints them, thus avoiding the dangerous
gaze; afterward he is led blindfolded from the room, and the
covering is removed only when his eyes will fall on some-
thing harmless, such as water.
In Buddhist myth and imagery occurs the symbolic ges-
ture (mudra ̄) of the Buddha “touching the ground”
(Bhu ̄ mi ́sparsa Mudra ̄). There are several versions of this
event. In one version, the Buddha at the point of attaining
perfection was warned that he would be attacked by demons.
So he pointed to the ground with his finger and called on
the gods of the earth to rise up and kill the demons. In anoth-
er version, the demon king Ma ̄ra claimed the Buddha’s
throne and summoned his troops as witnesses. The Buddha
then touched the earth as his witness, and it proclaimed his
right to the throne. Yet other accounts call this symbolic ges-
ture the mudra ̄ of the defeat of Ma ̄ra, or touching the earth
to oblige its gods to swear eternal fealty. Touching the
ground has the meaning of repressing evil and also of calling
the earth to witness. The five fingers of the left hand hold
the Buddha’s robe at the level of the breast, and with the
right hand five fingers touch or press the earth. In Buddhist
imagery, this gesture is a distinctive sign of the historical
Buddha, S ́a ̄kyamuni, whereas other gestures in images and
pictures are common to several Buddhas.
An Islamic tradition, from al-Bukha ̄r ̄ı, says that once,
when there was only a little food, Muh:ammad blessed it until
there was enough for a great multitude. This is similar to the
gospel accounts of Jesus praying, blessing, and breaking five
loaves of bread for five thousand people. Another Islamic
narrative says that once, when the followers of Muh:ammad
were thirsty, he put his hand into a bucket and water gushed
out from between his fingers like a spring. One follower said
that the Prophet came to him in a dream and kissed his
cheek, so that when he awoke the house was full of scent.
In Christianity, laying on of hands is said to communi-
cate power. The Gospels record that parents brought chil-
dren to Jesus in order that he might touch them. He brushed
aside the protective barrier formed by the disciples and, tak-
ing the children in his arms, “he blessed them, laying his
hands upon them” (Mk. 10:16). The Gospels record that the
first Christian apostles chose deacons to help in secondary
duties, laid hands on them, and prayed, whereupon the dea-
cons became filled with power. Peter and John laid their
hands on converts so that they would receive the Holy Spirit
(Acts 6:6). The magician Simon tried to buy this power so
that the Spirit might also descend on those on whom he laid
his hands (Acts 8:18–19). Paul and Barnabas had hands laid
on them for success in a special mission, but a warning to
Timothy to “lay hands suddenly on no man” shows that care
was needed in such dedication.Commission to service by laying on hands, especially in
the ordained ministry of the church, has continued through
the ages. It is practiced by nonepiscopal and free churches
as well as by those that claim an unbroken apostolic and epis-
copal succession transmitted through this sacred touch. In
the Church of England, the ordination of priests by the epis-
copal touch gives power as well as office, as reflected in these
words from the traditional Book of Common Prayer: “Receive
the Holy Ghost for the office and work of a priest in the
Church of God, now committed unto thee by the imposition
of our hands.” In the consecration of a bishop, other bishops
lay hands on his head and exhort him to “stir up the grace
of God which is given thee by this imposition of our hands.”
At the investiture of a high-caste Hindu, the candidate passes
from low or neutral status to that of a “twice-born.” The cen-
tral rite is the Upanayana, the “donning of the sacred
thread,” nowadays confined usually to boys, although in for-
mer times girls also were invested with this symbol of rebirth.
While the preceptor recites appropriate texts, the candidate,
facing the sun, slips the cotton threads over his head and
across his breast. The teacher puts his right hand on the right
side of the boy, alternately touching the candidate’s shoulder
and his own breast while exhorting obedience and unity of
mind. The teacher then takes the boy’s right hand into his
own and asks him his “old name”; he then gives him a “new
name” (which is uttered only at this ceremony). When the
candidate is finally considered ceremonially pure, he per-
forms nya ̄sa, touching his own head, eyes, nostrils, hands,
arms, limbs, and other parts of his body to purify them all.
The third finger of the right hand is considered the most aus-
picious, and, with it, the newly “twice-born” man touches
some of the ashes of the sacred fire that is burning nearby
and puts them on his forehead, throat, and right shoulder
and over his heart. Then he is blessed and bows to his teacher
and all his elders.
Not only prophets and healers but secular rulers have
been credited with a potent touch, thereby expressing the di-
vinity that “doth hedge a king.” European kings touched
their subjects who suffered from scrofula, also called “the
king’s evil,” a swelling of the glands that supposedly was
cured by the royal touch. French kings had done this since
ancient times, and the custom was introduced to England in
the eleventh century by the saintly Edward the Confessor.
In the late fifteenth century, Henry VII, perhaps to encour-
age support for his claim to the throne, instituted a ceremony
for touching persons suffering from scrofula and presented
the afflicted with gold coins; in the seventeenth century,
Charles I distributed silver pieces for the sufferers to touch.
From then until 1719, the Anglican Book of Common Prayer
contained an office called At the Healing, in which the mon-
arch laid hands on the assembled infirm persons and put goldTOUCHING 9257