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 Abhaya Mudra, Mini Brass Sitting Brass 4.9 (10)£13.95Members: +£0.90 back
Standing Buddha Brass Statue Brass £29.99Members: +£1.90 back
Buddha Statue in Abhaya Mudra, Brass Sitting Brass 5.0 (1)£23.95Members: +£1.55 back
Buddha Head Statues Set of 3, Brass Brass £49.95Members: +£3.25 backLow stock
Brass Sitting Meditation Buddha Statue Brass £23.95Members: +£1.55 backLow stock
Buddha Statue Large Sitting Brass Brass 5.0 (1)£50.95Members: +£3.30 backLow stock
Brass Buddha Head Statue Large Brass £50.95Members: +£3.30 back
Four-Face Buddha Brass Statue 5cm 5 cm · Brass £20.99Members: +£1.30 back
Four-face Buddha Brass Statue 6cm 6 cm · Brass £23.95Members: +£1.55 back
Four-face Buddha Brass Statue 10cm 10 cm · Brass £38.99Members: +£2.45 back
Buddha Statue Resting Pose, Brass 6.5 cm 6.5 cm · Solid brass India 5.0 (1)£26.99Members: +£1.70 back
Buddha Head Statue Brass 8 cm 8 cm · Solid brass India£39.99Members: +£2.50 back
Brass Reclining Buddha Statue 10 cm 10 cm · Solid brass India£28.99Members: +£2.05 back
Buddha Statue in Abhaya Mudra, Brass 7.5 cm 7.5 cm · Solid brass India£33.95Members: +£2.15 back
Buddha Statue in Abhaya Mudra, Brass 15cm 15 cm · Solid brass India£76.95Members: +£4.90 backLow stock
Brass Buddha Statue Large Head 11.5cm 11.5 cm · Solid brass India£55.95Members: +£3.60 backLow stock
Buddha Statue Hands Raised, Brass 7.5cm 7.5 cm · Solid brass India£26.99Members: +£1.70 back
Buddha Statue Brass Amitabha 9.5cm 9.5 cm · Solid brass India£39.99Members: +£2.50 backLow stock
Double Bedspread, Black And White Buddha Wall Hanging Cotton India£22.99Members: +£1.25 backLow stock
Wooden Puzzle Box Buddha Head 5.0 (7)£19.99Members: +£1.10 back
Backflow Incense Burner Buddha Waterfall Backflow cones · Ceramic China 5.0 (1)£19.95Members: +£0.75 back
Buddha Statue in Dhyana Mudra, Antique Home Meditation Decor Resin China£16.99Members: +£1.05 back
Buddha Oil Burner Antique Offering Hands Oil and water · Resin China 5.0 (1)£16.99Members: +£0.95 back
Buddha Candle Holder Antique Resin China 5.0 (4)£17.99Members: +£1.00 back

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.