Sustaining Church officers during the solemn assembly of April 2008 General Conference

I have been thinking recently about the power, significance, and symbolism of using our arms, particularly our right arm or hand.  I’m not sure what it is that gives this power to the way we use our arms and hands, but there is a fundamental force that comes from using them.  It could be that we use our arms and hands to accomplish most of what we do in a day; they are our main tools of action.  We use our arms and hands to get dressed, eat, drive, use a computer, handle objects, express ourselves, shake hands, signal to people, communicate, and do many of the things we do every day.  But there is something else that makes our arms and hands powerful, especially when we raise them up. 

I’ve written before about the use of the hands in many symbolic ways.  It can be seen in art, in marriage, commencement ceremonies, shaking hands, presidential inaugurations, trial oaths, Hinduism and Buddhism (very interesting in its own right), the origin of letters, and prayer.  We seal a deal by shaking hands.  We often use an uplifted hand to signal “STOP,” or to call attention in public places.  We raise our hand to ask a question or give a comment in the classroom or other meetings.  Raising the hand can also be a form of identification, of picking an individual from a group.

I came across an interesting quote from President Joseph Fielding Smith this morning about the use of the right hand in gospel ordinances:

The custom, evidently by divine direction, from the very earliest time, has been to associate the right hand with the taking of oaths, and in witnessing or acknowledging obligations. The right hand has been used, in preference to the left hand, in officiating in sacred ordinances where only one hand is used.

The earliest reference we have to the superiority of the right hand over the left, in blessing, is found in the blessing of Jacob to his two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, when he placed his hand “wittingly” upon the heads of the boys (Gen. 48:13-14).

Earlier, when Abraham sent his servant to Abraham’s own kindred to find a wife for Isaac, he had the servant place his hand under his (Abraham’s) thigh, and swear to him that he would accomplish his mission (Gen. 24:1-9). Evidently, this was the servant’s right hand.

The Lord said through Isaiah: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea. I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isa. 41:10).

In the Psalms we read: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Ps. 110:1; Matt. 22:44; Matt. 25:33-46; Acts 7:55; Rom. 8:34; 1 Pet. 3:22).

It is the custom to extend the right hand in token of fellowship (Gal. 2:9).  The right hand is called the dexter, and the left, the sinister; dexter means right and sinister means left. Dexter, or right, means favorable or propitious. Sinister is associated with evil, rather than good, Sinister means perverse.

We take the sacrament with the right hand. We sustain the authorities with the right hand. We make acknowledgment with the right hand raised.

I thought it insightful after the sustaining of President Monson in the April 2008 General Conference that Elder Hales made this remark:

I, like you, appreciated the participation in the solemn assembly. But I thought I might give one point of doctrine and help. When we raised our hands to the square in the solemn assembly, it was not just a vote in that we gave of ourselves a private and personal commitment, even a covenant, to sustain and to uphold the laws, ordinances, commandments, and the prophet of God, President Thomas S. Monson. I so appreciated participating with you and raising my right hand to the square.

Power in the Right Hand

I first happened upon a depiction of The Last Judgment by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Veneto, Italy. This artwork was completed about in about 1305. The scene is a typical judgment, with Christ in the center, the saved on his right, and the damned on his left. One commenter adds some interesting insight into his posture:

The seven virtues and seven vices are sometimes shown in opposition. In the Scrovegni chapel, the Last Judgement shows God with his right hand palm up towards the saved, and along the right wall are the seven virtues. His left hand is palm down towards the damned, and along the left wall are the seven vices, each opposite its corresponding virtue.

Another commenter says:

Giotto has filled the entrance wall of the chapel with a great scene of the Last Judgment. Christ’s left hand, palm down, condemns the damned to the horrors of Hell. His right hand, palm up, beckons the blessed to join him in heaven-and with them a hopeful Enrico Scrovegni.

This same pattern seems to repeat itself in many such depictions of Christ. The later famous depiction of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci is said to have imitated Giotto’s posture of Christ, except with the palms reversed:

Understanding this, Jesus is not only at the center of infinity and providing his body and blood to the people, but he is infinite and universal in his body position. Leonardo references here Giotto's painting of The Last Judgment, in which Jesus extends his arms with one palm up and one palm down. In doing so, Leonardo affirms Christ's role as the viewer's means of salvation.

It is interesting that Christ has his hand down in the direction of the betrayer Judas Iscariot.

Another commenter on the scene of Leonardo’s The Last Supper said:

The mystical symbolism is repeated again in the hands of Jesus, positioned left palm up and right palm down, gestures which in the Renaissance symbolism of the Christian Kabbalists represented the pillars of the kabbalistic tree of life, Mildness and Severity- and the sephirot Geburah and Chesed- justice and mercy. The balance between these sephirah is Tiphareth, symbolized by the Seal of Solomon. (In Freemasonry, the square and compass shares similar symbolism).

A woodcut from the Middle Ages shows the same posture, with this commentary:

From the right side of Jesus’ head comes the lily of mercy and from the left the sword of vengeance; his right hand, similarly, is held palm up for the saved and his left palm down for the damned.

There are many more examples of Christ in this posture, including The Last Judgment by Hieronymus Bosch (ca. 1482).

The Last Judgment depicted by Maso di Banco in Santa Croce, Florence, depicts the same.  Jane Long refers to this position thus:

The seated figure of Christ floats above a rocky landscape in a mandorla and makes the customary judging gestures – right palm up to accept the saved, left palm down to reject the damned.

An interesting variation in these examples is that some depict the right hand not only with palm up, but with the right arm upraised also.  The Last Judgment by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel is a famous example.  The Tympanum (West Portal) of The Last Judgment to the Church of Ste. Foy at Conques, France, also shows Christ with a raised right arm towards the saved, and a lowered left hand towards the damned.  One particularly nice example of this variation is The Last Judgment by Master of the Bambino Vispo (ca. 1422).

This posture again appears in Hans Memling‘s depiction of The Last Judgment (ca. 1467-1471).

It is also interesting that this posture is also found in other cultures and traditions, particularly in the mudra gestures of Buddhism.

So it would seem that in addition to the incense filled hand found in ancient Israel, the palm up/palm down symbolism does have a place in Christianity, especially in Christian art.  The palm up seems to depict blessing, receiving, mildness, mercy, and salvation, while the palm down seems to depict damnation, severity, justice, judgment, rejection, condemnation, and sin.  At least that is what the Christians in the Middle Ages and Renaissance might have believed.

Palm up/Palm down in Middle Ages & Renaissance Christian Art

Tian Tan Buddha

I was reading a blog of a friend of mine, Dave Stoker, over at Thoughts of a Seeker when I noticed a photograph of a statue he used in a post. This statue, that he identified as the Tian Tan Buddha, was intriguing to me because of its unique posture that I had not before recognized in Eastern art. Dave informs us that these arm and hand gestures are quite universal in historical depictions of Buddha, and are known as mudras. He further says that this particular statue is the largest outdoor seated Buddha in the world, completed in 1993 in Hong Kong.

Tian Tan, I have come to find out, is Mandarin for “Temple of Heaven,” or more literally “Altar of Heaven,” and is the same name given to a Taoist temple in Beijing. The term mudra is Sanskrit for “seal” or “seal of authenticity.” Wikipedia further defines the mudra:

A mudrā (Sanskrit: मुद्रा, lit. “seal”) is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. Mudrā (Sanskrit) is a ‘spiritual gesture’ and energetic ‘seal of authenticity’ employed in the iconography and sadhana of Dharmic Traditions and Taoic Traditions; particularly those influenced by Tantra, Shinto and Shamanism.

Nitin Kumar gives a description of the mudras which is enlightening as to its use and meaning in traditional Buddhism:

Mudras are a non-verbal mode of communication and self-expression, consisting of hand gestures and finger-postures. They are symbolic sign based finger patterns taking the place, but retaining the efficacy of the spoken word, and are used to evoke in the mind ideas symbolizing divine powers or the deities themselves. The composition of a mudra is based on certain movements of the fingers; in other words, they constitute a highly stylized form of gestureal communication. It is an external expression of ‘inner resolve’, suggesting that such non-verbal communications are more powerful than the spoken word.

The mudra gestures connect the Buddhist worshipper with the divine:

They indicate to the faithful in a simple way the nature and the function of the deities represented. Mudras are thus gestures which symbolize divine manifestation. They are also used by monks in their spiritual exercises of ritual meditation and concentration, and are believed to generate forces that invoke the deity.

Such mudras extend beyond ritual into the arts:

But a mudra is used not only to illustrate and emphasize the meaning of an esoteric ritual. It also gives significance to a sculptural image, a dance movement, or a meditative pose, intensifying their potency. In its highest form, it is a magical art of symbolical gestures through which the invisible forces may operate on the earthly sphere.

Again, such symbolic gestures invoke the deity, or literally bring the worshipper into divine presence:

This contact between the various elements creates conditions favorable for the presence of the deity at rites performed for securing some desired object or benefit. That is, mudras induce the deity to be near the worshipper.

Gautam Buddha

The most universal mudras found in Buddhism have been given names. The specific mudras made in the Tian Tan Buddha statue are very common among Buddha representations. The gesture given by the right hand is called the Abhaya mudra, or the seal of “no fear,” and is described thus:

. . . this mudra symbolizes protection, peace, and the dispelling of fear. It is made with the right hand raised to shoulder height, the arm crooked, the palm of the hand facing outward, and the fingers upright and joined . . .

This mudra, which initially appears to be a natural gesture, was probably used from prehistoric times as a sign of good intentions – the hand raised and unarmed proposes friendship, or at least peace; since antiquity, it was also a gesture asserting power, as with the magna manus of the Roman Emperors who legislated and gave peace at the same time.

Kumar also tells of an interesting traditional Buddhist legend which incorporates the use of the Abhaya mudra:

Devadatta, a cousin of the Buddha, through jealousy caused a schism to be caused among the disciples of Buddha. As Devadatta’s pride increased, he attempted to murder the Buddha. One of his schemes involved loosing a rampaging elephant into the Buddha’s path. But as the elephant approached him, Buddha displayed the Abhaya mudra, which immediately calmed the animal.

The mudra made by the left hand is called the Varada mudra, or the seal of “welcome” or “favour.” It signifies “offering, welcome, charity, giving, compassion and sincerity”. This mudra is described thus:

It is nearly always made with the left hand, and can be made with the arm hanging naturally at the side of the body, the palm of the open hand facing forward, and the fingers extended.

It is also noted that this mudra is the “accomplishment of the wish to devote oneself to human salvation”. This mudra is rarely used alone, but is almost always accompanied by a mudra of the right hand, most often the Abhaya mudra.

Kumar continues to describe the mudras as “an archetypal posture of performed occult significance,” the performance of which is “total, at once subtle but powerful”. Through such practices, he says,

we learn to integrate our dissipated thoughts and actions, so that life becomes a graceful flow of energy and understanding. Our whole being can then become a mudra, a gesture of life within, reflecting into our external life.

As Hugh Nibley has noted, these type of practices are “not for a moment to be equated with the true and celestial order of things,” but “we may be able to learn much from [them]”.

Mudra Ritual Gestures in Eastern Religion