You've probably witnessed a scene like this in a ninja manga or movie: A ninja puts the fingers of both hands together to make a special shape, chants a curse and then either disappears, starts up a storm or blows up some rocks… In reality, this kind of thing never happened, but for him to accomplish his death-defying missions the ninja was required not just to have considerable physical capabilities, but steely mental powers too. By making these symbolic 'seals' with the fingers, ninja stabilised themselves mentally, focussed their concentration and used the power of auto-suggestion to persuade themselves that they would succeed in their task. There are different kinds of seals, including those used to dispel fear, those used to grant wishes and those used to ward off evil. Nowadays too, these kinds of seals are used in Buddhist priests' training, and Buddhist statues can be seen making different signs with their hands, each one carrying a different meaning.
