What Do The Different Buddha Statues Represent?
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at
12:48 am
I was told the one standing up with arms stretched up means prosperity. What about the others? (And is that one correct also?)
Look at more Buddha Garden Statues
Tagged with: BUDDHA • Different • Represent • Statues • What
Filed under: Buddha Questions and Answers
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Many of the Buddha statues represent the Buddhas. There are many Buddhas, not just Siddartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. Some are of Boddhisattvas, or those who achieved enlightment but rejected entering Nirvana for some reason (such as one who gave up Nirvana until every living being reaches Nirvana). Every statue has different elements, much like Hindu and Jain statues. These are from the stories usually or represent something. Many have mudras (hand gestures) that in themselves mean things like “peace”, “healing”, etc. Siddhartha Gautama Buddha is usually pictured in statues as the one with the curly hair and long ears (the long ears are the key point in recognizing him). Hotei Buddha is from China and is the fat Buddha that is sitting. He is a Boddhisattva. The same with Jizo Buddha who is from Japan. When people visit nations with large Buddhist populations they often simply ask “what is this” or “who is this” and they hear the word “Buddha” at the end and just assume it is “The Buddha”. They forget that there is more than one Buddha. Every person can become a Buddha by achieving enlightenment through finding their Buddha-nature and following the eight fold path, according to Buddhism.
The only different Buddha statues I know of are resisting temtation and entering Nirvana.
All of the aspects of a Buddha statue symbolize something. When you see the Buddha touching the ground, this is a symbol that he has reached Nirvana and he is calling the earth to witness it and has decided to go teach the Dharma to the world. When you see his hands in a sort of twisted fashion (I can’t describe it) this represents him teaching. When you see the hands cupped in his lap, he is meditating. If you see one hand in the meditation pose, and the other in the teaching pose, he is teaching meditation.
Check out this site for pictures of the different gestures and postures and what they mean.http://www.exoticindiaart.com/mudras.htm
Good question
I would like a scholarly answer to this.
I know that bliss and tranquillity is the first reaction within, when I see an image of a a buddha.