Buddha

A Buddha figure portrays Siddhartha Gautama, the teacher who lived in northern India around the fifth century BCE and whose teaching became Buddhism. Each pose and hand gesture recalls a moment of his life: meditation, teaching, the night of his awakening. For Buddhists the figure is an object of respect and a reminder of the path he showed.

Tradition: Buddhism, from northern India
First figures: around the 1st century CE
Traditional place: raised and clean, never on the floor

Shop Buddha · 313 Meaning

In the library

Aromas

Sandalwood69 pieces

As a gift

Yoga & Meditation Gifts93

Shop Buddha

Singing Bowl Om Five Buddha Earth Powder 16cm 16 cm · 770 g · Aluminium India£48.95Members: +£3.15 back
Tray Buddha Face Engraved Black 30x15x2.5cm Mango wood India£15.95Members: +£0.95 back
Singing Bowl Powder Blue Five Buddha Mantra 16cm 16 cm · 770 g · Aluminium India£48.95Members: +£3.15 back
Large Aluminium Singing Bowl - Buddha Tree of Life - Copper Colour (19cm) 19 cm · 1.3 kg India£71.00Members: +£4.60 back
Large Enamelled Mango Tray Set, Buddha Mango wood India£34.95Members: +£2.05 back
Extra Large Mango Box, Buddha Bodi Tree Mango wood India£45.95Members: +£2.75 back
Small Orgonite Pyramids 5.5x4.5cm, Chakra Buddha, Black Tourmaline Chips 5.5 × 4.5 cm · Orgonite resin India£11.95Members: +£0.75 back
Long Tray Buddha Face Whitewash 30x15x2.5cm Mango wood India£15.95Members: +£0.95 back
Hamsa Hand Tray, Black Buddha Engraved 30x20.5x2.5cm Mango wood India£15.95Members: +£0.95 back
Long Hamsa Hand Tray, Buddha Whitewash 30x20.5x2.5cm Mango wood India£15.95Members: +£0.95 back
Buddha Face Engraved Round Box Black 17.5x7.5cm Mango wood India£19.95Members: +£1.15 back
Round Box Buddha Face Whitewash 17.5x7.5cm Mango wood India£19.95Members: +£1.15 back
Large Rectangular Box Buddha Face Black Engraved 21.5x14x6.3cm Mango wood India£15.95Members: +£0.95 back
Buddha Face Rectangular Storage Box Whitewash Mango wood India£15.95Members: +£0.95 back
Square Box Buddha Face Black Engraved 17x10x4.2 cm Mango wood India£11.95Members: +£0.70 back
Storage Box Buddha Face Whitewash 17x10x4.2cm Mango wood India£11.95Members: +£0.70 back
Square Box Buddha Face Black Engraved 10x10x4.2cm Mango wood India£8.99Members: +£0.45 back
Buddha Face Box Square Whitewash 10x10x4.2cm Mango wood India£8.99Members: +£0.45 back
Tibetan Singing Bowl 16 cm Buddha Engraved 16 cm · 780 g · Mixed metals Nepal 4.8 (5)£161.00Members: +£10.40 backLow stock
Singing Bowl Earth Powder Mandala Buddha 16cm 16 cm · 770 g · Aluminium India£48.95Members: +£3.15 back
Singing Bowl Earth Powder Five Buddha Mantra 16cm 16 cm · 770 g · Aluminium India£48.95Members: +£3.15 backLow stock
Singing Bowl Five Buddha Design 21 cm · 1.5 kg · Aluminium India 4.8 (6)£75.95Members: +£4.90 backLow stock
Singing Bowl with Buddha Design 21 cm · 1.5 kg · Aluminium India 4.5 (15)£75.95Members: +£4.90 backLow stock

What the figure means

Buddha means the awakened one. It is the title given to Siddhartha Gautama, who taught in the Ganges plain some two and a half thousand years ago. A figure of him is a reminder of a person and of a path: that attention, kindness and patience can be practised, day by day.

For several centuries early Buddhist art showed him only through signs, such as a footprint, an empty seat or a tree. Figures in human form appeared around the first century CE, in Gandhara and Mathura in the north of the subcontinent.

Postures and hand gestures

A seated Buddha usually meditates. A standing one teaches or walks among people. A reclining Buddha, lying on his right side, shows his final passing, the parinirvana, and in Buddhist art it is a calm image of completion.

The hands, called mudras, tell the rest. Hands resting in the lap, palms up, mean meditation. A right hand reaching down to touch the earth recalls the night of his awakening, when he called the earth as his witness. A raised open palm is the gesture of fearlessness, and fingers joined at the chest mean teaching.

Placing a Buddha at home

Buddhist custom asks for a clean, raised place: a shelf, a low table or a home altar, never the floor and never the bathroom. Many people set the figure facing into the room or towards the door, with a little space around it for a candle, a flower or incense.

Choosing a figure

Choose the gesture you want to come back to: meditation for a reading corner, the earth-touching hand for a desk where decisions are made. The round, laughing figure with a sack is Budai, a monk of Chinese folklore, a different figure from the Buddha himself. Dust with a soft dry cloth.

A small practice

Light a candle or a stick of incense in front of the figure.
Sit for three minutes and follow your breath, as the seated Buddha does.
Before you stand, name one thing you will meet with more patience today.

In the library

Lotus47 pieces

Mandala122 pieces

Om45 pieces

Sandalwood69 pieces

Frequently asked questions

Is it disrespectful to have a Buddha statue if I am not Buddhist?

Most Buddhist teachers welcome it when the figure is kept with respect: raised, clean, and away from the floor and the bathroom. Avoid using it as a doorstop, a lamp base or a garden joke.

Which way should a Buddha statue face?

Custom varies from country to country. A common choice is facing into the room or towards the main door, at or above eye level when you sit. A clean, calm place matters more than the direction.

What does a reclining Buddha mean?

It shows the Buddha at the end of his life, lying on his right side as he passed into final nirvana. In Buddhist art it is a peaceful image of completion, not a sad one.

Is the laughing Buddha the same as the Buddha?

No. The laughing figure is Budai, a Chinese monk of folklore later linked with Maitreya, the Buddha to come. Siddhartha Gautama is usually shown slender and calm.