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

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Buddhastaty i dhyana mudra, blågrön och guldfärgad, medium 15 cm · Harts 5,0 (2)£15.95Medlemmar: +£0.95 tillbaka
Ljusburk Buddhaansikten, antik bärnsten, 2-pack Pressat glas £10.95Medlemmar: +£0.60 tillbaka
Staty av Buddha i dhyanamudra, miniatyr i mässing Mässing £14.95Medlemmar: +£0.85 tillbaka
Rudraksha Mala-armband Buddha Naturlig Trä £5.95Medlemmar: +£0.15 tillbaka
Armbandsset i sandelträpärlor med Buddhaarmband, 2 delar Elastiskt · Sandelträ 5,0 (1)£4.49Medlemmar: +£0.10 tillbaka
Skrattande Buddha Budai med händerna uppsträckta, vitkalkad 40cm 40 cm · Suarträ £124.95Medlemmar: +£8.10 tillbakaBegränsat lager
Oljebrännare Buddha Om-händer antik Olja och vatten · Harts 4,8 (6)£16.99Medlemmar: +£0.95 tillbaka
Sjungande skål Om Fem Buddha Jordpulver 16cm 16 cm · 770 g · Aluminium £48.95Medlemmar: +£3.15 tillbaka
Singing Bowl Set Fem Buddha 10cm 400g Nepal£60.00Medlemmar: +£3.80 tillbaka
Banjara Buddha-rökelse, presentask (6 blandade) £10.95Medlemmar: +£0.40 tillbaka
Svala hängsmycken med ädelstenar, silverobsidianbuddha På snöre · Bomullssnöre £8.99Medlemmar: +£0.40 tillbaka
Väggkonst i bomull (70x110cm), Buddha under bodhiträdet Bomull £10.99Medlemmar: +£0.60 tillbaka
Banjara Buddha Essence örtmeditationsrökelsepinnar £2.08
Banjara Buddha Serenity rökelsepinnar för meditation 5,0 (1)£2.08
Fotoram 10x15 cm mangoträ svart Buddha Mangoträ £11.99Medlemmar: +£0.70 tillbaka
Bricka Buddhaansikte graverad svart 30x15x2,5cm Mangoträ £15.95Medlemmar: +£0.95 tillbaka
Telefonställ i mangoträ med snidad Buddha-design Mangoträ £10.95Medlemmar: +£0.65 tillbaka
Rökelsepinnar Banjara Buddha inre frid 5,0 (7)£2.08
Rökelsestickor Buddha Harmoni Banjara 5,0 (1)£2.08
Rökelsehållare för rökelsepinnar, Buddha-hand Stickor · Aluminium £17.99Medlemmar: +£1.15 tillbaka
Buddha Staty Svart och Guld Resin Medium 15 cm · Harts 5,0 (6)£17.99Medlemmar: +£1.05 tillbaka
Ametist Buddha Skulptur 50x40x20mm 50 × 40 × 20 mm £26.99Medlemmar: +£1.60 tillbaka
Klangskål Pulverblå Fem Buddha Mantra 16 cm 16 cm · 770 g · Aluminium £48.95Medlemmar: +£3.15 tillbaka
Bordfontän 30 cm Gyllene Buddha Vitarka Mudra 30 cm · Harts £44.99Medlemmar: +£2.00 tillbaka

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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Vanliga frågor

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.