 Buddha
Statues represent the “enlightened one”,
the idol of the Buddhist religion. They are a symbol
of Buddhism’s founder, Siddhartha Gautama,
who preached that to attain Nirvana, a state without
suffering, one must eliminate all craving from their
life. This can only be done by pursuing the eightfold
path.
There is an extensive amount of information on
Buddhism
at About.com.
The primary role of Buddha statues is to convey
the calm feelings that reflect ones proper mental
discipline as having the control over the negative
emotions of fear and greed. However, Buddha statues
also serve an important role in conveying teachings,
particularly in traditional societies with low
literacy rates.
While Buddha Statues come in a wide variety of
poses, the most common is the Buddha in Lotus
Position. This is a position of meditation that
symbolizes perfect balance of thought and tranquility.
In this statue, the hand positions, called mudra,
have the fingers of the right hand resting lightly
on the fingers of the left as they lay in the
lap of Buddha. The legs are crossed in what is
called the Lotus Position. The left foot is placed
on the right thigh and the right foot is placed
on the left thigh. Many Buddha statues sit on
a pedestal in the form of a lotus blossom. The
lotus represents the Buddha Mind because, though
growing in mire, it puts forth beautiful, immaculate
flowers.
Other popular positions include statues with
the right hand raised in abhayamudra - the gesture
of dispelling fear. These statues symbolize protection
and peace in one’s home or garden. Statues
Calling the Earth to Witness are represented by
Buddha’s right hand touching the ground
in a gesture that symbolizes unshakable faith
and resolution. The reclining Buddha representing
the Buddha’s death and passage to Nirvana
symbolizes complete peace and detachment from
the world.
Some Buddha statues are actually based on Bodhisattvas,
people could have passed to Nirvana, but instead
chose to remain in this world out of compassion
for other human beings. The Avalokitesvara’s
main purpose is to listen to the cries for help
from those in trouble and provide them with aid.
He is the protector from danger and his sacrifice
symbolizes infinite compassion, the sharing of
mankind's misery and a willingness to help those
in distress. The eight arms symbolize his reaching
out with compassion to save the world. The famous
Chinese view of Avalokitesvara is a women known
as Kuan Yin (or Kwan Yin). We have a large selection
of Kuan Yin Statues in our Asian
Gallery.
Laughing Buddha
A Chinese monk named Ho Tai is widely referred
to by non-Buddhists as the "laughing Buddha"
or "happy Buddha." Many believe that
he is an incarnation of a Buddha who will appear
in the future and might properly be called a bodhisattva.
You will find a statue of the Ho Tai laughing
Buddha in our Asian
Gallery.
To view our line of Buddha Statues, please visit
our Asian Gallery by clicking here:
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Historical
Statues
