The Buddha Statue -- Symbolism and History

Siddhartha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism and is the figure represented by the Buddha statue. He was an Indian prince who lived from 563 to 483 B.C. Buddhism is a religious philosophy that, unlike many other traditional religions does not believe in a personal God that punishes our wrong-doings and rewards our good deeds individually. It was originally begun as an atheistic philosophy. It is based on the Noble Eightfold path and the Four Truths. The Buddha statue represents the "Enlightened One." The Four Noble Truths are: that suffering is part of life, craving is what causes suffering, the suffering stops when the craving stops, and that the only way to conquer the cravings and suffering is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path.


The First Statue


It is believed that the first Buddha statue was not created until four or five hundred years after the death of Buddha out of respect. Therefore, the statues are not an exact replication of the person and there is no "right way" to represent him. The artist had artistic freedom of expression in that area. But, there are certain characteristics and symbolic elements that you will find at least one of in every Buddha statue.


• If the hands are resting in the lap this represents meditation.


• The hands crossing over the chest are a symbol of Dharma-or a state of "being."


• In the earliest Buddha statue, the figure has both hands raised with the ring finger on the left hand touching the thumb and the index finger on the right hand is touching the thumb to make a circle with the three other fingers held aright. It is not certain what this symbolizes.

Technorati : Buddha Statue

Del.icio.us : Buddha Statue

Zooomr : Buddha Statue

Flickr : Buddha Statue