pahng ancheun juti (ปางอัญเชิญจุติ)

Thai-Rajasap. ‘The pose of inviting rebirth’. A designation in Thai Buddhist iconography referring to a Buddha image that represents the episode of the ceremonial invitation for the Buddha's descent from the heavenly realm. The term ancheun (อัญเชิญ) means to respectfully invite or ceremonially usher, whereas juti (จุติ) signifies descent or transition from one state of existence to another. When a bodhisattva has fully perfected the ten perfections — renunciation, loving-kindness, effort, determination, wisdom, morality, patience, equanimity, truthfulness, and generosity — across three progressive stages (ordinary perfections, secondary perfections, and supreme perfections), he becomes ready to attain Enlightenment as a Buddha. After completing these perfections, he is reborn in the Tushita heaven as a deity, where he abides in divine bliss while awaiting his final human birth. There, he undertakes the ‘five great examinations’: the right time, place, family, mother, and lifespan for his final incarnation. Finding all conditions fulfilled, he accepts the invitation of Brahma and the gods to descend to the human world. Siddhartha, the Buddha-to-be is then conceived in the womb of Queen Maha Maya, consort of King Suddhodana of Kapilavasthu. This event, known as ‘inviting the bodhisattva to incarnate’, marks the earliest stage of the Buddha’s final earthly life. 回