Facts about Buddha Statues

Buddha Statue

With the contribution of Buddhism to world religions, we have also found some beautiful contributions of arts and statues by them. At present time we have found some big and gigantic statues around the globe. These statues are known as Buddharupa ( An awakened form), which actually adorns the Buddha temples.

The Great Buddha Statue

In the Buddhist tradition, Buddha doesn't simply represent the god, it shows a person who achieved self-liberation and enlightenment.  Many Buddha statues have shown the original Buddha who taught the lesson of kindness and love and showed the path to Nirvana. In the basic Buddhist practice, followers need to visualize Buddha as  "Buddha Padmasambhava " to confer blessings on the world. In the practice, these statues were not held or used anyhow but followers used to chant mantras in front of statues as they serve as the source of energy and peace for the practitioner. 

The Prayer wheels

A basic Buddhist shrine mainly consists of three Buddha Statue, these are the three states of Buddha, in the centre, there is the most known figure of Buddha i.e. Buddha Shakyamuni, To his right, there is Green Tara i.e. the Buddha of Compassion, to his left, there is Buddha Padmasambhava i.e. Buddha who purifies and shows the way to enlightenment.

The Prayer Flags

The statues of Buddha we have seen all through the world, have been seen while giving a pose which actually shows particular teaching of Theravada ( core Buddhism ), where the hand gestures are known as "Mudras".

Some of the Mudras are:-

• When Buddha is sitting and his right hand is raised up and his left hand extends outwards having his palm facing upside with two middle fingers which are bending slightly showing protection and overcoming fear.
•  When Buddha gets seated with either crossed legs or one leg resting on the other and both the hands in the lap and the face with little outward position shows the Buddha in the Meditation.
• In Thai temples, Buddha is in a pose known as " calling the earth to witness " which signifies the Enlighted Gautama.
• When Buddha lying on the right-hand side of the tabletop showing his last moment before death. 

Back view of the Great Statue

Front view of the Great statue

A small Gateway behind the Statue

The position in which we see the Buddha Statue in the Buddha temple is in " Abhaya Mudra " which signifies strength and inner security and actually shows fearlessness to others. this pose was the immediate pose of Buddha after attaining Enlightenment. In this mudra, the right hand is generally raised upside near to shoulder resulting bend of the arm and the left-hand stands straight down with a facing palm to the front.

The prayer wheel on the premises

In the conclusion, we can say that using the Buddha statue by Buddhists is because of maintaining their role model in their own conceptualization which puts them on the path of enlightenment. they are also placed by many peoples in their lobbies and waiting rooms as they are an essence of peace and serenity to the environment around them.