Side tables along with desks almost all seem to cry out for a sitting Buddha, backyards and balconies might be perfect for a standing Buddha, but quite a few areas need an subject much wider than it is high. There an excellent thing is a reclining Buddha.

All Buddha statues share 32 features believed to have been physical characteristics from the first Gautama Buddha who was born in approximately 563 BC. These are also known as the ‘Thirty Two Signs of a Great Man’, and include:

•    flat feet

•    a pointed head

•    beautiful golden skin

•    long fingers the same length

•    long toes all the same length

•    a robe draped over one shoulder

•    long ear lobes

The Buddha wasn’t in favor of representations of his own form, and so the proper question is, why are there so many Buddha statues?

It appears this might be another matter that may be blamed on  the Greeks, and on one Greek in particular, Alexander the Great. When Alexander  conquered Northern India and Afghanistan, he left lots of soldiers and artisans behind, therefore the art of that region had been heavily influenced by classical sculpture, and by Greek ideas of Gods and men. Alexander was well-known for taking pleasure in the imitation of his own visage, understanding the worth of portraits and statues as products of propaganda.

This might be the reason why Alexandrian India, with a partly Greek populace and ties to Greek tradition, was the earliest region to produce Buddha statues. These proved hugely popular and the concept spread with Buddhism itself, on the other hand as Islam restricted the rendering of the human form and looked at such sculpture as idolatry,  many of the ancient and beautiful statues of the Buddha in that region have been destroyed.

Generally there are a couple of well defined poses for these sculptures which refer to particular concepts or times in the life of the Buddha.

But the most intriguing is the reclining pose of the Buddha. There are 2 variations. The first portrays the Buddha, resting with his head on his arm. This is the sleeping Buddha, but the alternative pose, where Buddha’s feet are together, represents the day the Buddha went into Nirvana.

Aged 80, the Buddha took a moment to rest and informed his disciples he would soon enter parinirvana, the state that occurs whenever the physical body of a person who has achieved total awakening or enlightenment finally dies. He consumed his final meal and after that grew to become violently ill. He asked his followers for any inquiries they had and when there were none he gave them his last directions. “All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence.” Tradition states that that when his body was put between the sala trees, the plants bloomed, though it was not the season.

This is the moment symbolized by the reclining Buddha statue.  In Thailand the most common pose shows the Buddha with legs crossed and with his left hand in his lap while the right points to the ground, palm inward in a pose called ‘Calling the Earth to Witness’ and relates to the precise of the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Whatever shape your area, right now there is a Buddha statue which will fit, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility to your world and surroundings.

Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism is very similar to Mahayana Buddhism with subtle variations.  Also known as “tantric Buddhism,” Vajrayana incorporates text and scriptures from both Mahayana and Theraveda Buddhism along with Buddhist Tantras.  A major difference of Vajrayana Buddhism is that it teaches that Buddhahood can be achieved in a single life time without need for reincarnation.   

the Path to Enlightenment and Buddhahood is the most significant difference between the various Buddhist disciplines.  While all believe in the core principles of meditation and spiritual questing guided by the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, the attainment of Nirvana varies considerably.}

The earth touching mudra is performed by extending the five fingers of the right hand and placing them on the ground with the palm facing inward toward the body. It is symbolic of the moment when Buddha summoned the goddess, Shthavara to witness the moment in which he achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. For this reason, the pose is also known as ‘Summoning the Earth Goddess to Witness.’

Buddha statues in the earth touching mudra have the right arm resting on the right knee with the fingers of the hand extended downward. The left hand rests in the lap, palm up in the mudra of meditation (dhyana mudra). The combination of mudras is intended to symbolize the union of wisdom and method, Nirvana and Samasra. Buddhist teachings tell the tale of how Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, assumed the earth touching pose to resist against the temptations and distractions of the demon Mara who sought to lure the Buddha from his spiritual life. In Buddhist folklore, Mara was viewed as everything from an all powerful demon to a gremlin-like nuisance. This demon was a symbol of temptation who summoned beautiful temptresses to distract the Buddha from his spiritual journey much like the sirens of Greek Mythology

The earth touching pose is associated with Akshobhya, one of the Five Great Buddhas. Akshobhya is a manifestation of strength, confidence and determination and the use of the Bhumisparsha mudra is a reflection of that. The concept of the Five Great Buddhas was an evolution of the Buddhist theology. Initially only two existed, wisdom and compassion.

Akshobhya sits in the Eastern position and is thought to possess the mirror wisdom that converts anger to wisdom. He is associated with the element water, mirror-like itself and symbolic of Akshobhya’s ability to help people see things as they truly are.

The simple beauty of this mudra is a welcome reminder that temptation can be confronted by strength.

• ‘What is the purpose of my life? What is it that I want from this life?
• Do sensuous pleasures keep me happy forever?
• Don’t I crave for more and ever more?
• Am I able to avoid pain and suffering that always accompany my life-long pursuit of power, money and pleasure?
• How can I really avoid pain and suffering?
• Is there a way out? What is true happiness?
• What is the message of the Buddha, the Enlightened One, and how does it help me in my life?
• Can I actually find the same kind of awakening that will free me from this compulsive pursuit of sensual pleasures that ultimately subject me to untold pain and suffering?
• How do I go about finding it anyway?’

To find answers, go read the story of the Buddha and see if you have in you the same spirit, the same urge for peace and for true happiness that spells freedom from suffering and pain. The Buddha’s story is not long and tedious, unless you want to make it so. It is not a fable. It is a true story of a prince of a Himalayan kingdom. It happened more than 2500 years ago, much before the story of Prophet Mohammed and even much Jesus Christ was born. It also gave birth to a new non-theistic religion, and more than that, a new philosophy of life that you, like many others, can adopt or adapt with considerable benefit, without sacrificing any of your own religious beliefs.

Prince Siddhartha, son of King Suddhodhana of Kapilavastu ( a kingdom that existed on the present India – Nepal border) lived a life of plenty, pleasure and palace-luxuries, well shielded from the outside world (where the common man experienced misery and poverty, pain and suffering, disease and death), till he attained the age of thirty. One night, however, he renounced his claim to succeed his father, his possessions and all his relatives including his young and pretty wife, who was fast asleep with their newborn son beside her. That night, he started on his journey to discover the life outside as well as the light within. After leading an frugal life, practicing intense meditation and self-mortification, sometime depriving himself of any food, he realized that the better way to getting enlightenment lay neither in a life of luxury nor in a life of extreme deprivation but in adopting a middle path. He became the Buddha, the Fully Enlightened One.

As long as you crave for sensual pleasures, or your selfishness influences your way of thinking and determines your life’s goals, you only run after a mirage of happiness. If you wish for mental peace instead of agitation, physical rejuvenation instead of exhaustion, spiritual enrichment instead of impoverishment, resist your riotous temptations and stifle your selfishness. Still your anger and greed and jealousy and other negative emotions. Get into rendering selfless service and learn to be contented.

Practice meditation. Mine the riches within, rather than pine for the pleasures without. Discover the land of eternal pleasure and unending happiness that is deep down within you, and when love and compassion adorn your personality, you won’t experience any misery or pain or suffering. You will then have unraveled the Buddha that lies in you.