Bouddha

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

Achetez Bouddha · 313 Signification

Dans la bibliothèque

Arômes

Bois de santal69 pièces

Achetez Bouddha

Cadre photo 10x15cm Bouddha blanc bois de manguier Bois de manguier £11.99Membres : +£0.70 reversés
Cadre photo 10x15 cm bois de manguier Bouddha noir Bois de manguier 3,6 (8)£13.95Membres : +£0.80 reversés
Cadre photo bois de manguier 10x15cm Bouddha blanc Bois de manguier 3,9 (8)£13.95Membres : +£0.80 reversés
Cadre photo 13x18cm bois de manguier Bouddha noir Bois de manguier £17.95Membres : +£1.05 reversés
Grand cadre photo en bois de manguier 13x18cm Bouddha blanc Bois de manguier £17.95Membres : +£1.05 reversés
Plateau long visage de Bouddha à la chaux 30x15x2,5cm Bois de manguier £15.95Membres : +£0.95 reversés
Plateau main Hamsa, Bouddha gravé noir 30x20,5x2,5cm Bois de manguier £15.95Membres : +£0.95 reversés
Plateau long main Hamsa, Bouddha à la chaux 30x20,5x2,5cm Bois de manguier £15.95Membres : +£0.95 reversés
Boîte ronde visage de Bouddha gravée noire 17,5x7,5cm Bois de manguier £19.95Membres : +£1.15 reversés
Boîte ronde visage de Bouddha à la chaux 17,5x7,5cm Bois de manguier £19.95Membres : +£1.15 reversés
Grande boîte rectangulaire visage de Bouddha gravée noire 21,5x14x6,3cm Bois de manguier £15.95Membres : +£0.95 reversés
Boîte de rangement rectangulaire visage de Bouddha à la chaux Bois de manguier £15.95Membres : +£0.95 reversés
Boîte carrée visage de Bouddha gravée noire 17x10x4,2 cm Bois de manguier £11.95Membres : +£0.70 reversés
Boîte de rangement visage de Bouddha à la chaux 17x10x4,2cm Bois de manguier £11.95Membres : +£0.70 reversés
Boîte Carrée Visage de Bouddha Gravé Noir 10x10x4.2cm Bois de manguier £8.99Membres : +£0.45 reversés
Boîte Visage de Bouddha Carrée Blanchi 10x10x4.2cm Bois de manguier £8.99Membres : +£0.45 reversés
Bougie en Pot Visages de Bouddha Jade Jardin Lot de 2 Verre pressé £10.95Membres : +£0.60 reversés
Set de Bougies Bouddha Gris Minuit Lot de 2 Verre pressé £10.95Membres : +£0.60 reversés
Bougie en Pot Visages de Bouddha Bleu Royal Lot de 2 Verre pressé £10.95Membres : +£0.60 reversés

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.

Dans la bibliothèque

Fleur de lotus47 pièces

Mandala122 pièces

Om45 pièces

Bois de santal69 pièces

Foire aux 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.