Boeddha

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

Winkel bij Boeddha · 313 Betekenis

In de bibliotheek

Aroma's

Sandelhout69 stuks

Winkel bij Boeddha

Boeddha Oliebrander Zittend Blauw Geurwax · Keramiek China 5,0 (2)£7.95Leden: +£0.30 terug
Boeddha Olie- en Wax Melt Brander Zwart Geurwax · Keramiek China 4,9 (13)£5.99Leden: +£0.20 terug
Buddha canvas wanddecoratie, halve mandala blauw 60x80 cm Canvas £39.95Leden: +£2.60 terug
Boeddha Mandala Canvas Wanddecoratie Set van 4 Canvas £56.00Leden: +£3.60 terug
Buddha hoofden wanddecoratie set van 4, 30x30 cm Canvas £34.99Leden: +£2.50 terug
Buddha canvas wanddecoratie, drie hoofden met gouden details Canvas £48.99Leden: +£3.15 terug
Buddha canvas wanddecoratie, drie hoofden met bamboe Canvas £43.95Leden: +£2.85 terug
Buddha canvas wanddecoratie drie hoofden zwart Canvas £43.95Leden: +£2.85 terug
Buddha canvas wanddecoratie, ingelijst koper 80x60 cm Canvas £40.99Leden: +£2.60 terugWeinig voorraad
Boeddha-wanddecoratie op canvas, gouden gezicht en lotusbloem Canvas 5,0 (2)£40.99Leden: +£2.60 terug
Buddha schilderij, koper brokaat 80x60 cm Canvas 5,0 (2)£40.99Leden: +£2.60 terugWeinig voorraad
Buddha canvas wanddecoratie in lijst, blauwe brokaat Canvas 4,8 (5)£40.99Leden: +£2.60 terug
Buddha canvas wanddecoratie, grijze brokaat Canvas £40.99Leden: +£2.60 terug
Buddha canvas wanddecoratie, gouden brokaat 80x60 cm Canvas 4,8 (5)£40.99Leden: +£2.60 terug
Buddha canvas wanddecoratie grijze zandafwerking 80x60 cm Canvas 5,0 (2)£34.99Leden: +£2.25 terugWeinig voorraad
Buddha canvas wanddecoratie grijze mandala, 60x80 cm Canvas £39.95Leden: +£2.60 terug
Buddha wanddecoratie set van 4 grijze mandala Canvas £56.00Leden: +£3.60 terug
Buddha hoofd canvas wanddecoratie set van 4 Canvas £42.99Leden: +£2.80 terug
Buddhabeeld met Klassieke Mandala 2-delige Set Albasiahout 5,0 (1)£68.95Leden: +£4.45 terug
Buddha beeld set 2-delig Om symbool grijs zwart Albasiahout 4,0 (1)£77.00Leden: +£4.95 terugWeinig voorraad
Buddhabeeld met Bloemen Mandala 2-delige Set, Blauw Albasiahout £68.95Leden: +£4.45 terugWeinig voorraad
Boeddhakop groot antiek messing Messing 4,0 (1)£32.99Leden: +£2.10 terug

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.

In de bibliotheek

Lotusbloem47 stuks

Mandala122 stuks

Om45 stuks

Sandelhout69 stuks

Veelgestelde vragen

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.