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Buddha Sculpture

Depictions of the Founder of One of the World's Great Religions

Seated Buddha - India 7th Century
Mauna Kea Asian Art Collection

The child who would become Buddha, Prince Siddhartha, was born in 563 B.C. in northeast India. He was the son of the king and queen of the Sakyas. Suddhodana and Maya, who ruled at Kapilavastu, on the border with Nepal.

He enjoyed the pleasures of palace life and at age 16 married Princess Yasodhara. They had a son named Rahula.

After seeing a decrepit old man, an invalid, and an ascetic beggar, he learned of suffering and decided to embrace asceticism. At age 29, Siddhartha left the palace and his family and went to a hermitage where he became the monk Gautama, or, as he is still called, Sakyamuni (The ascetic of the Sakyas).

One day, meditating under a sacred fig tree, he attained perfect illumination (Bodhi). He had become the Buddha.

Buddha then traveled and preached for 44 years and spread the teachings of what was to become one of the main religions of the world. Buddhism spread from India to Southeast Asia, Japan and China. It became one of the dominant religions on the planet.

The central doctrine of the faith of Buddhism is in the form of four noble truths: to live as if being alive is to suffer: that the cause of that suffering is desire: the way to end the suffering is to quell desire: and the way to do this is by following a path of correct behavior that contains a code of proper thought, belief and action.

At first Buddha was not depicted as a human. Rather the ideals of Buddhism were merely symbols.

Later, possibly because of foreign influences, statues and paintings of Buddha as a man began to emerge.

Artists began to depict Buddha based on a strict system of measurements meant to give the depiction luck to the patron who had it commissioned.

Over time. foreign cultures and religions influenced the way Buddha was depicted, in some ways trying to diminish his importance.The Buddhas on this page are just a small sample of the shapes he has acquired over the centuries.

In spite the passage of time the influence of Buddhism is still seen in artwork throughout Asia.

Wood Statuette, 'Jovial Buddha'

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