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

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Buddha Statue in Dhyana Mudra, Teal and Gold Medium 15 cm · Resin 5.0 (2)£15.95Members: +£0.95 back
Buddha Statue in Dhyana Mudra, Mini Brass Brass £14.95Members: +£0.85 back
Laughing Buddha Budai Hands Up, Whitewash 40cm 40 cm · Suar Wood £124.95Members: +£8.10 backLow stock
Buddha Statue Black and Gold Resin Medium 15 cm · Resin 5.0 (6)£17.99Members: +£1.05 back
Amethyst Buddha Carving 50x40x20mm 50 × 40 × 20 mm China£26.99Members: +£1.60 back
Four-face Buddha Brass Statue 4.5cm 4.5 cm · Brass 5.0 (2)£11.99Members: +£0.65 back
Brass Buddha Miniature (17gms), 34mm Brass India£9.99Members: +£0.65 back
Brass Buddha Miniature (60gms), 48mm Brass India£9.99Members: +£0.65 back
Buddha Statue 0.5m Antique Gold Finish 50 cm · Fibre cement £128.95Members: +£8.35 backLow stock
Standing Buddha Statue, 3m Tall Antique Gold Indoor 300 cm · Fibre cement £1,600.00Members: +£94.40 backLow stock
Buddha Statue in Vitarka Mudra in Stupa 1.5m Stone Bronze Finish 150 cm · Fibre cement £830.00Members: +£48.85 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.

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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.