Decorating with Buddha Statues

Just about every designer knows that if a customer asks for a room that is relaxed and beautiful, there’s only one direction to go with the interior decoration, and that’s East. Consider fountains, bonzai, elegant plants, beautiful screens and spectacular statues. You can add a touch of the orient in numerous ways, but one of the simplest is to add a statue of the Buddha. There are more than one hundred ‘standard’ positions and three distinct orientations for these statues, so there is bound to be one that will be perfect for just about any room or space, even when it’s an awkward shape or size.

Buffets along with desks almost all seem to cry out for a sitting Buddha, backyards and balconies may be just right for the standing Buddha, however some areas require an item a lot broader than high. Here the ideal thing is a reclining Buddha.

Most Buddha statues display 32 features said to have been physical features of the original Gautama Buddha who was born around 563 BC. They are also referred to as the ‘Thirty Two Signs of a Great Man’, and encompass:

•    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 was not in favor of representations of his own body, and therefore the real question is, why are there any statues of the Buddha at all?

It appears this might be yet another thing which can be attirbuted to  the Greeks, and on one Greek in particular, Alexander the Great. When Alexander  conquered India and Afghanistan, the leader left many military and artisans in the regions, therefore the art of that area was to a great extent influenced by classical sculpture, and through Greek ideas of Gods and mortals. Alexander was well-known for enjoying the reproduction of his own visage, understanding the worth of paintings and statues as products of propaganda.

This may be the reason why Alexandrian India, with a partly Greek populace as well as ties to Greek culture, was the first region to create Buddha statues. These became immensely popular and the concept spread with Buddhism itself, even so as Islam restricted the rendering of the human form and considered such statues as idolatry,  many of the ancient and beautiful statues of the Buddha in that region have since been destroyed.

Generally there are a few well defined poses for these sculptures which relate to specific ideas or events in the life of the Buddha.

But the most fascinating is the reclining pose of the Buddha. There are two variations. The first shows the Buddha, resting with his head on his arm. This is the sleeping Buddha, however the other similar pose, where Buddha’s feet are together, symbolizes the day the Buddha went into Nirvana.

Aged eighty, the Buddha sat down to rest and told his followers he would soon enter parinirvana, the condition that happens when the body of an individual that has accomplished complete awakening or enlightenment finally passes away. He ate his last meal and then became violently ill. He asked his followers for any requests that 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 says that when his body was laid between the sala trees, the flowers bloomed, despite the fact that 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 exact of the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Whatever shape your area, there is a Buddha statue which will certainly match, bringing a feeling of serenity and tranquility to all your surroundings.