Picturing Buddha

Though the Buddha icons we know today symbolize Eastern culture, some of the earliest human renditions of the Buddha, created in Gandhara, India, may have been a product of the Western influence of the Greeks, who ruled a neighboring part of Afghanistan under Alexander the Great ( http://www.buddhamind.info/leftside/arty/bud-imag.htm ). Though the exact origins are not known, the first Indian Buddha images emerged half a millennium after Siddharta’s death. The Gandharan depictions generally portray him sitting or standing, cloaked in a robe similar to that worn by the Greeks. The aquiline features are similar to those found in Greek sculpture.

Early Buddha Image on Coin

Around the same time, Buddhists in Central India began to produce the Mathura style, which is more full figured and is often seated in the cross-legged “lotus” position. Reflecting more traditional Indian art forms, this style drew upon images of Hindu mythology as well as primitive religious beings known as Yaksas. The Mathura school engendered the more refined Sarnath style, which depicts placid, elegant forms, and has become the most widespread style in Asia.

Some of the key features that Asian Buddhas have historically had in common are intricately beaded, upswept hair, auspiciously long earlobes, and a serene smiling expression. There are some variations, however. In Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, for instance, Buddha has gone through several visual phases with successive dominant cultures. The Mon-style Buddha face, developed around the 11th century, is full-lipped and angular. The Thai style that later emerged in 1260 with the original Thai kingdom is ornate and graceful, and includes a " walking Buddha"—a sweeping, androgynous figure ambling with one hand raised.

China’s rich religious history has given rise to still more interpretations of the Buddha’s image and teachings.

Part of this diversity is due to the fact that Buddhism entered China through various channels, with different scholars developing their own theories and practices.

During the Northern dynasties of the 5th and 6th centuries, the Buddha was generally imagined in relatively abstract forms that are not particularly human-like. The Longmen Grottoes of Henan are a key site of early Buddhist art, containing thousands of caves that house large Buddhist sculptures built over several dynasties.

Dunhuang Buddha Painting

The Tang period marked a high point in terms of both reverence for the Buddha and a more humanistic reworking of Buddhist art. Buddhist sculpture became more lifelike, inspired by the similar Gupta movement in Indian art. During this period, devout practitioners etched the Buddha image into natural landscapes in some of China’s most impressive works of sculpture. The Dunhuang Caves of Gansu Province, known as the Cave of 1,000 Buddhas, contain nearly 500 temples, replete with intricately painted images and scriptures spanning an area of 450,000 square feet.

The tallest Buddha in the world is the Leshan stone Buddha, located at the crux of three major rivers in southern Sichuan Province. Over 70 meters tall, the sculpture depicts a Maitreya or future Buddha, which is believed to be a messianic “second coming” version of the original Buddha. Construction began in 713 CE when a monk sought to design a Buddha that would watch over passing ships and was finally completed by his disciples 90 years later.

Leshan Giant Buddha

Korea and Japan have developed their own takes on the Buddha image, reflecting indigenous interpretations of foreign influences from China and elsewhere. In Japan, for instance, Buddhist art melds influences from Chinese culture, the Greek and Central Asian cultures that thrived along the Silk Road, and its own indigenous Neolithic culture.

Tibetan Thanka Painting

Tibetan Buddhism has its own distinctive vernacular, blending the iconography of its own primitive religion with Indian and Chinese imagery. Tibetan art typically exhibits colorful, fantastic forms that suggest the imaginative realms opened up through its intense meditative practices. Tibet is known for its Buddhist cloth paintings, which use intense dyes for a striking visual effect, and sculptures made of various materials, from metal to butter. Major artworks are often commissioned by religious leaders and are created according to extensive artistic manuals.

According to an overview of Tibetan art by the Australian Tibetan Society, in these artworks,

“benign, wrathful, serene or terrifying deities all illustrate an aspect of the Buddha mind, or the potential to be found in each of us, so that the artist projects for us archetypal images from deep within our subconscious, inviting us to contemplate those aspects of our being which usually remain hidden. For the meditation practitioner, such images are models for the process of visualisation, where the adept develops the ability, through stabilized concentration and cultivated inner vision, to visualise the deity in all its phenomenal detail and then absorb this vision into him/herself and so absorb the spiritual qualities particular to that deity.”


By contrast, mainstream Chinese Buddha images are generally pleasant and less wracked by subconscious struggle. Perhaps the most uniquely Chinese Buddha figure is that of the Boddhisattva Guan Yin. A Boddhisattva is a figure who is on the path to enlightenment and can be evoked as a spiritual guide for Buddhism practitioners. Guan Yin is actually one interpretation of the Boddhisattva Avalokitesvara, who symbolizes compassion. While Avalokitesvara has traditionally been depicted as both male and female, Guan Yin is distinctly feminine. According to one legend, Guan Yin was betrothed to a man against her will and, defying her father, sought to become a nun. She was permitted to work in a monastery but her father ordered the monks to force her to spend her days doing onerous chores. In a Cinderella-like twist, Guan Yin was so goodhearted that she won the admiration of the nearby animals, who helped her with her work. Enraged, her father tried to burn down the temple, but Guan Yin magically extinguished it. She was eventually executed by her father and then elevated to Goddess status. However, she decided to remain on earth to help alleviate human suffering.

Japanese Guan Yin Statue

Guan Yin is characterized by an exquisitely calm and delicate expression, often rendered in fine porcelain or another elegant material. She is typically portrayed in a white robe, either standing or sitting. As a symbol of compassion, she is associated with motherhood, fertility and altruism. Guan Yin is worshipped throughout East Asia, and some followers have drawn parallels between her and the Virgin Mary.

A more peculiar development in Chinese Buddhism is Hotei, also known as the “Laughing Buddha” or Mi Le Fo.

Hotei, the Laughing Buddha

This is the fat Buddha that has become one of the most lovable icons of Chinese culture. With his rotund figure, bald head and whimsical grin, he embodies the inner peace of happiness and benevolence. Since he is associated with the protection of children, Hotei statues and images often show him surrounded by cherubic children, and, like his Western jolly saint counterpart, he carries a sack of goodies to give to youngsters. The inspiration for Hotei was an actual Chan monk from the Liang Dynasty. A combination of Buddhist and Taoist teachings shaped him into the iconographic laughing figure, but he actually carries a deeper spiritual message. He was supposedly a Maitreya Buddha, or Buddha of the future, and the fact that this was not acknowledged until he died signifies the importance of seeking salvation on earth as opposed to only in heaven.

Today, Hotei has morphed more or less into a symbol of worldliness, as evidenced by his various appearances in bars and restaurants as well as on fashionable clothing. Though perhaps no longer a spiritual icon, Hotei’s image, perhaps the most enduring of all Buddhist depictions, speaks to the universal appeal of Buddhist culture.