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

Statue de Bouddha 0,5m finition or antique 50 cm · Fibrociment £128.95Membres : +£8.35 reversésStock faible
Statue de Bouddha debout, 3m or antique intérieur 300 cm · Fibrociment £1,600.00Membres : +£94.40 reversésStock faible
Statue de Bouddha en Vitarka Mudra dans Stupa 1.5m Finition Bronze Pierre 150 cm · Fibrociment £830.00Membres : +£48.85 reversésStock faible
Statue de Bouddha en méditation dans un stupa, 1.5m, finition bronze et or 150 cm · Fibrociment £830.00Membres : +£48.85 reversésStock faible
Statue de Bouddha en Abhaya Mudra sur Lotus 2m Turquoise et Pierre 200 cm · Fibrociment £1,400.00Membres : +£91.75 reversésStock faible
Statue de Bouddha enseignant sur un lotus, 2m, or antique 200 cm · Fibrociment £1,400.00Membres : +£91.75 reversésStock faible
Sculpture tête de Bouddha sur socle cuivre bleu Béton £24.99Membres : +£1.60 reversés
Statue tête de Bouddha sur socle cuivre vert Béton £24.99Membres : +£1.60 reversés
Porte cônes d’encens bol en bois Bouddha gravé Cônes · Bois de manguier £12.95Membres : +£0.75 reversés
Brûleur d’huile et de cire fondante, Bouddha en bois de manguier Fondants parfumés · Bois de manguier 5,0 (1)£17.99Membres : +£1.05 reversés
Tapisserie murale Mandala Bouddha, couvre-lit double en coton Coton £32.95Membres : +£1.95 reversés
Bâtonnets d’encens Buddha Bliss, Banjara £2.08
Bâtonnets d’encens Banjara Bouddha Bénédiction £2.08
Bâtons d’encens pour méditation Banjara Bouddha 5,0 (1)£2.08
Bâtonnets d’encens Banjara Bouddha de la sagesse £2.08
Brûleur d’encens en stéatite, Hamsa avec gravure Bouddha Bâtonnets · Stéatite £8.99Membres : +£0.45 reversés
Carillon éolien Bouddha en laiton design Chakra Laiton £13.95Membres : +£0.85 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.