This Aztec drum shows the face of a "god" on the drum side. Each eye is contained within an open hand. The concept of the two eyes, here is that of two fountains: one of fire (lava), brought about only through the action of a God and two, that of water, the spring of Chapultepec, controlled by man, even in war.

The "Eye in the Hand" is a universal icon which has been used world-wide. Please take note of the European version of this symbol found in "Believe In Only That Which You See." The rest of the world, considered to be theOld World includes Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. Here we can also include what is known as the Middle East and the Islands of the Pacific. Yet, this pre-Columbian designation of "World" does include the Americas before their "discovery" by Christopher Columbus.

Guan Yin is the goddess of luck in China. When I first stood in front of this immense statue, I thought it was just another statue of a goddess. But as I looked at her, I discovered that every one of her thousand hands had an eye in the palm.

I thought If one applies the Aztec concept of water or fire to the Chinese version, then water becomes the more dominant symbol for good fortune. The rice paddies are terraced in many parts of the country. Each terrace is connected to another by a small rivulet of water as often as possible so that all the paddies have sufficient water.

There are thousands of these tiny rivulets in the country, feeding the rice paddies or other agricultural endeavors. Guan Yin, in order to portray good fortune, was thereby symbolizing the multiply water channels that brought food and plenty to her people.

In another area, Chengde's Puning Monastery, there is a Mahayana Buddha with only 42 limbs and only 45 eyes on its face and palms. (This information is found In Journey Into China, National Geographic (1982) p. 104-05) Here is a different location and a different need. The rivers themselves supply water to the population. Therefore, the rivers which can be counted upon are dedicated to the many hands of the Buddha as eyes in the palms.