A weizza or weikza (, ) is a mystic in Burmese Buddhism commonly associated with esoteric and heterodox practices such as recitation of spells, samatha, and alchemy. The goal of this practice is to achieve immortality and await the appearance of the Buddhahood, Maitreya.
Weikza practices are less common than merit-making practices or vipassanā meditation. During the socialist era from 1962 to 1988, Ne Win banned secret weizza associations, weizza magazines and literature, and portrayals of weizza from films and other media,
Etymology
The word weizza () comes from the Pali word , which means “knowledge” or “wisdom”,
and is distantly related to the English word "wizard", as both stem ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root
, meaning "to know or see".
Weizza in the historical tradition
Aside from epigraphs, there are no local Indic or
vernacular compositions that have been securely dated to pre-
Pagan Kingdom. However, there are some later attributions of texts that were written during the first millennium. One such example is the
Kappālaṅkāra (ကပ္ပါလင်္ကာရ), a vijjādhara ("weikza") text said to have been written by the
bhikkhu Uttamasīri during the first century CE. The text survives in an 18th-century Pali-Burmese nissaya version (which attributes the text to Uttamasīri in its colophon) compiled by Taungdwin Sayadaw Ñaṇābhidhammālaṅkāra.
In Myanmar, there are two classes of wizards; the sôns (စုန်း) and the weizza. The former are considered a bane to society, while the latter spend their days helping the common folk and undoing the curses brought upon by the sôns.
Weizza orders
weizza are divided into four major orders:
-
The Pyada Weizza, who work with mercury
-
The Than Weizza, who work with iron
-
The Se Weizza, who specialize in medicine
-
The In Weizza, who specialize in yantra signs and squares
Among these, the Than and In are considered the most powerful. The Pyada Weizza, or Mercury Wizards, also study alchemy in order to produce gold and silver from more common metals.
Purported abilities
Among their powers, weizza possess the ability to see past lives, see and hear things that are far away, read minds, teleport, dive into the earth, walk on water, and be in multiple places simultaneously. Powerful practitioners of the weizza’s way are purported to live for centuries, even choosing the time of their next reincarnation.
The In Weizza, who work with cabalistic squares, use one's birth date and time to create powerful charms and spells. In
The Burman, Sir J. George Scott described some squares and charms so powerful that they could set a house ablaze. Others, engraved in stone and embedded in one's skin, would prevent drowning. Merely scratching an
in in a house or tree could cause lightning to strike it.
Tools of the trade
Weizza grimoires
Two traditional manuscripts contain rudimentary guidelines on the practices of weizza: the
Bedin (ဗေဒင်) and the
Deittôn (ဒိတ္တုန်). The latter is a book on astrology and metaphysics.
Containing just basic principles of the art of weizza, the teachings in these texts are often surpassed by the weizza's own individual study and personal advancement. However, these books were once complete, many having been burned by religious zealots in the time of the last Buddha. The remains were spared from the fire by
Devadatta, the cousin of
Gautama Buddha. Devadatta was always plotting against Shin Gautama, so he saved portions of the old science. Thus, this style of learning is looked upon with suspicion by many religious folk.
Medical remedies
Weizza prescriptions may be composed of
chili powder,
, and
ginger for fevers to earth-oil infused with seeds, bark, leaves, flowers, roots, and minerals. Weizza are specially adept with pills and powders, which are carried in bright red
made of heavily scented
bamboo. These ingredients are gathered with attention to the phases of the moon and placement of the constellations.
Another potent ingredient in the weizza's cabinet is meteoric stones, which can be gathered within three days of lightning striking a piece of earth and are used as
Ophthalmology medicine.
Weizza seldom use liquids in their practice of medicine.
Medical philosophies
Two schools of thought exist in weizza medicine:
-
The datsayās, whose primary focus is on diets
-
The beindawsayās, who work with potent drugs
In both schools, the human body is divided into four elements ( dats): earth ( patawi dat), fire ( tezaw dat), water ( apaw dat), and air ( wayaw dat). Some practitioners also include Akasha ( akatha), though this element is disregarded by doctors.
-
Earth: the flesh, bones, hair, intestines, etc.
-
Fire: eating, drinking, chewing, and licking
-
Water: the fat, blood, bile, spittle, mucus, etc.
-
Air: the six kinds of winds
Modern perception of weizza
Weizza following still exists in Myanmar today. The former government forbade the publication of weizza materials and selling of weizza prints, which are popular in household altars. Even so, weizza followers abound.
There exist exclusive groups of weizza devotees called
gaing (ဂိုဏ်း). These groups follow a set of tenets, are headed by a charismatic leader, and center their devotion on one or more weizza saints.
Notable weizza
-
Bo Bo Aung
-
Bo Min Gaung
-
Kyaikhtisaung Sayadaw
-
Linn Nhyo Taryar
-
Setkya Mintha
See also
Bibliography
