Understanding the Meaning of the Sleeping Buddha

May 18th, 2010 Posted in Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

Just about every decorator understands when a customer asks for a room that is calm and beautiful, there’s just one direction to choose the decor, and that’s East. Imagine fountains, bonzai, elegant plants, beautiful screens and unique statues. It is possible to create a touch of the orient in many ways, however one of the simplest would be to add a statue of the Buddha. There are more than one hundred ‘standard’ positions and 3 distinct orientations for these statues, so there is bound to be one which would be appropriate for almost any space, even when it is an awkward shape or size.

Buffets and desks almost all seem to cry out for a sitting Buddha, gardens and balconies may be just right for a standing Buddha, however many spaces need an object a lot broader than tall. Here the perfect decor item is a reclining Buddha.

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

•    flat feet

•    a pointed head

•    beautiful gold 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 actually, why are there any statues of the Buddha at all?

It seems this might be yet another thing which can be attirbuted to  the Greeks, and on one Greek in particular, Alexander the Great. When Alexander  occupied Afghanistan and Northern India, the leader kept lots of military and artists in the regions, hence the art of this area had been to a great extent affected by classical sculpture, as well as by Greek ideas of Gods and mortals. Alexander was widley known for taking pleasure in the imitation of his own visage, understanding the value of portraits and sculpture as items of propaganda.

This might be the reason why Alexandrian India, with a partially Greek populace and ties to Greek culture, was the first region to produce Buddha statues. These became hugely popular and the concept propogagted with Buddhism itself, on the other hand as Islam restricted the representation of the human form and looked at such statues as idolatry,  countless ancient and amazing statues of the Buddha in that area are no longer standing.

There are a few well defined poses for these statues that pertain to certain principles or events in the life of the Buddha.

But the most interesting is the reclining pose of the Buddha. Presently there are not one but two versions. One portrays the Buddha, resting with his head on his arm. This is the sleeping Buddha, however the other similar pose, where Buddha’s feet are resting together, symbolizes the day the Buddha entered Nirvana.

At age 80, the Buddha sat down to rest and informed his followers he was about to enter parinirvana, the condition which occurs when the physical body of an individual who has achieved total awakening or enlightenment finally passes away. He ate his last meal and then grew to become violently sick. He asked his followers for any concerns they had and when there weren’t any he gave all of them his final directions. “All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence.” Custom says that when his body was put among the sala trees, the flowers bloomed, although this was not the time of year.

This is the occurrence commemorated by the reclining Buddha statue.  In Thailand the most frequent position 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 refers to the precise of the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Whatever form your space, generally there is a Buddha statue that will fit, providing a sense of serenity and harmony to your world and surroundings.