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

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Achetez Bouddha

Statue Budai Bouddha Rieur Bois 30cm Bleu Menthe 30 cm · Bois de suar £210.00Membres : +£14.00 reversésStock faible
Statue de Bouddha, bois de suar sculpté à la main 30cm 30 cm · Bois de suar £193.95Membres : +£12.70 reversésStock faible
Statue de Bouddha en mudra Vitarka, bois sculpté à la main, menthe 30cm 30 cm · Bois de suar £193.95Membres : +£12.70 reversésStock faible
Sac fourre-tout tie-dye en coton Bleu Lotus Bouddha Coton £12.95Membres : +£0.80 reversés
Sac fourre-tout en coton tie-dye Lotus Bouddha 38x42x12cm Coton 5.0 (1)£12.95Membres : +£0.80 reversés
Bol Chantant Tibétain 16 cm Bouddha Gravé 16 cm · 780 g · Alliage de métaux 4.8 (5)£161.00Membres : +£10.40 reversésStock faible
Bol Chantant Terre Poudre Mandala Bouddha 16 cm 16 cm · 770 g · Aluminium £48.95Membres : +£3.15 reversés
Bol Chantant Terre Poudre Cinq Bouddhas Mantra 16 cm 16 cm · 770 g · Aluminium £48.95Membres : +£3.15 reversésStock faible
Ensemble de Bols Chantants Bouddha Noir Orange 14 cm £91.95Membres : +£5.95 reversés
Ensemble de Bols Chantants Bouddha Noir Orange 10,7 cm £63.95Membres : +£4.10 reversésStock faible
Bol Chantant Motif Cinq Bouddhas 21 cm · 1,5 kg · Aluminium 4.8 (6)£75.95Membres : +£4.90 reversésStock faible
Bol Chantant avec Motif Bouddha 21 cm · 1,5 kg · Aluminium 4.5 (15)£75.95Membres : +£4.90 reversésStock faible
Bol Chantant Cinq Bouddhas 11 cm · 630 g · Laiton 4.4 (7)£39.99Membres : +£2.50 reversésStock faible
Coffret Cadeau Bol Chantant 14 cm Bouddha Enseignant £94.00Membres : +£6.00 reversés
Porte-Encens en Céramique, Feuille Longue Buddha Bâtonnets · Métal £14.99Membres : +£0.85 reversés
Fontaine de Table 30 cm Bouddha Doré Lotus 30 cm · Résine £44.99Membres : +£2.00 reversés
Fontaine de Table, 30 cm Bouddha Méditant Doré 30 cm · Résine 5.0 (1)£43.95Membres : +£2.05 reversésStock faible

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.

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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.