Physical characteristics of the Buddha

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One of the first representations of the Buddha , 5./6. Century BE Graeco-Buddhist Art , Gandhara

The physical characteristics of the Buddha describe the appearance and characteristics of the physical body of the Gautama Buddha .

No surviving artistic representations of the Buddha are known before the 1st or 2nd century AD (5th century BE ) (see Bimaran Reliquary or Kanishka Reliquary ). The Buddhist art was anikonisch up to this time. Only then did the first statues and bas-reliefs appear.

A number of early discourses describe the appearance of a Buddha. They were likely the basis for the early depictions. The "32 characteristics of a great man" described in the Pali Canon are particularly important . The 32 major features are supplemented by 80 smaller features (Pali: Anubyanjana ).

In Mahayana Buddhism, including the traditions of esoteric Buddhism, the 32 major characteristics and 80 minor characteristics are understood as belonging to the Sambhogakaya or meritorious body of a Buddha. In contrast, the physical form of a Buddha is considered to be a Nirmāṇakāya or body of transformation .

Early history

In the aniconical early phase of Buddhism, the Buddha was represented by symbols such as a footprint, an empty chair, an abandoned horse or an umbrella. The first images of the Buddha were created from around the 5th century BE in the regions of Gandhara (today's Kandahar in Afghanistan ) and Mathura . Many statues and busts of the Buddha and other bodhisattvas from this period have mustaches.

In the Pali Canon, it is mentioned how the Buddha began his pursuit of enlightenment:

“And I, you monks, after a while, still in fresh bloom, shiny dark-haired, enjoying happy youth, in the first manhood, against the wishes of my weeping and complaining parents, with shorn hair and beards, clad in pale robes, left Home away into homelessness. " (MN 26)

Gregory Schopen concludes that the followers of Mahayana played little to no role in the making of statues and other representations of the Buddha at this time.

Mahayana sutras from this period, such as the Maitreyasiṃhanāda Sūtra , only critically mention the iconic representations, if at all. Schopen explains that followers of Mahayana generally had no interest in worshiping the Buddha, but rather wanted to attain Buddhahood themselves. Her attitude towards Buddhist practice is "deeply conservative."

The 32 characteristics of a great man

The Buddha is said to have traditionally possessed each of the 32 characteristics of a Great Man (Skt. Mahāpuruṣa Laksana ). The 32 great features are also said to have been present in the Chakravartin kings.

In the Longer Collection , the 32 Great Characteristics are listed and explained in the " Discourse on Characteristics" ( Pali : Lakkhana Sutta ) (DN 30) . They are also described in the Brahmāyu Sutra of the Majjhima-Nikāya (MN 91).

The 32 great features are:

  1. the soles of the feet of a Buddha are as soft and even as the breastplate of a turtle
  2. A wheel with a thousand spokes can be seen on the palms and feet
  3. his heels are narrow
  4. the fingers are long and slender
  5. hands and feet are gentle and tender
  6. the conjunctiva between the toes and fingers is fine like a net
  7. the instep is arched
  8. the legs are slender like a gazelle
  9. Standing, he can feel and touch his knees with both palms without bending
  10. The pubic member is hidden in the foreskin
  11. The body glows gold, its skin gleams like gold
  12. the skin is supple, so supple that dust and dirt cannot stick to it
  13. only one hair grows from each pore
  14. the body hair is downy
  15. the posture is lofty and upright
  16. The soles of the feet, palms, shoulders, and head are well-shaped
  17. the area under the armpits is well filled
  18. the torso is lion-like, with a broad chest
  19. his stature is a fathom high
  20. its proportions are those of the banyan tree: its length corresponds to its arm width, its arm width corresponds to its body length
  21. the shoulders are uniform
  22. the auricles are powerful
  23. the chin is lion-like
  24. the teeth are complete
  25. the teeth are evenly joined, not set apart, the teeth are shiny white
  26. The four canine teeth are bright white
  27. the tongue is long and broad
  28. the voice is deep and sonorous
  29. the eyes are deep blue
  30. the eyelashes are like a royal bull
  31. he has a white, glowing ūrṇā between the eyebrows
  32. it has a bump in the middle of the head

The 80 smaller features

Sculpture of the Buddha from Mathura , India. 9th or 10th century BE

The 80 minor features of the Buddha are listed several times in the extant agamas of the Chinese Buddhist canon . According to Guang Xing, the 80 minor features relate to the 32 major features and are therefore only a more detailed description of the Buddha's appearance. In the Sarvastivadin Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣa Sastra , the question of the relationship between the great and the minor characteristics is asked. It is stated that the smaller features accompany the larger features, but do not mix with them, they are like flowers in the forest that make the trees unmistakable.

The 80 minor features were adopted in both Mahayana and Theravada . In the Pali literature, the 80 minor features are found in Apadāna and Milindapanha . Some researchers suggest that the 80 Minor Traits were an early development in the Buddhist tradition, particularly significant for the Sarvastivada School.

The 80 smaller features are:

  1. He has nice fingers and toes.
  2. He has well proportioned fingers and toes.
  3. He has tubular fingers and toes.
  4. His fingernails and toenails are pink in color.
  5. His fingernails and toenails run up slightly.
  6. His fingernails and toenails are smooth, rounded and without burrs.
  7. His ankles and wrists are round.
  8. His feet are of the same length.
  9. He walks nicely, like a king's elephant.
  10. He has a stately gait, like that of a lion.
  11. He walks nicely, like a swan's.
  12. He has a majestic gait, like that of a royal ox.
  13. His right foot guides when walking.
  14. His knees have no protruding kneecaps.
  15. He has the demeanor of a noble man.
  16. His navel is flawless.
  17. He has a flat stomach.
  18. He has drawings on his stomach that point clockwise.
  19. His hips are rounded.
  20. Its two arms are shaped like an elephant's trunk.
  21. His skin is thick or thin as it should be.
  22. His skin is absolutely smooth.
  23. His body is flawless.
  24. His body is flawless from top to bottom.
  25. His body is absolutely free from impurities.
  26. He doesn't have a sharp elbow.
  27. It has a protruding nose.
  28. His nose is well proportioned.
  29. Its upper and lower lips are the same size and have a pink color.
  30. His teeth are flawless and without plaque.
  31. Its teeth are long like polished shells.
  32. Its teeth are smooth and without burrs.
  33. Its five sense organs are flawless.
  34. Its four canine teeth are white and rounded.
  35. His face is long and beautiful.
  36. His cheeks are radiant.
  37. The lines on his palms are deep.
  38. The lines on his palms are long.
  39. The lines on his palms are straight.
  40. The lines on the palms of the hands are pink in color.
  41. An aura that extends two meters surrounds his body.
  42. His cheek cavities are completely rounded and smooth.
  43. Seated Buddha, from Gandhara , 5th-6th centuries BE Tokyo National Museum.
    His eyelids are well proportioned.
  44. The five nerves of the eyes are flawless.
  45. The tips of his body hair are neither curved nor bent.
  46. He has a rounded tongue.
  47. His tongue is soft and pink in color.
  48. Its ears are long like lotus flowers.
  49. His ears are nicely rounded.
  50. His tendons and ligaments are not sticking out.
  51. Its tendons and ligaments are deeply embedded.
  52. His topknot is like a crown.
  53. His forehead is well proportioned in length and width.
  54. His forehead is rounded and beautiful.
  55. His eyebrows are arched like an arch.
  56. The hair on his eyebrows is in order.
  57. The hair on his eyebrows is flat.
  58. The hair on his eyebrows is fine.
  59. He's got big eyebrows.
  60. His eyebrows reach the outer corners of his eyes.
  61. His skin is clean all over his body.
  62. His whole body is rich in signs of happiness.
  63. His body is always radiant.
  64. His body is always pure as a lotus flower.
  65. His body is extremely sensitive to touch.
  66. Its body has the scent of sandalwood.
  67. His body hair is always even in length.
  68. His body hair is very fine.
  69. His breath is always good.
  70. His mouth always has a beautiful smile.
  71. His mouth has the scent of a lotus flower.
  72. His hair is the color of a dark shade.
  73. His hair smells.
  74. His hair has the scent of a white lotus.
  75. His hair is wavy.
  76. His hair doesn't turn gray.
  77. His hair is fine.
  78. His hair is untangled.
  79. His hair has long curls.
  80. It has a topknot as if it is topped with a garland of flowers.

Alternative representations

Some authors have noted that one can infer from at least two discourses in the Pali canon that the Buddha was shaven like the monks.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Krishnan, Yuvraj. The Buddha Image: Its Origin and Development 2009, p. 51
  2. ^ A b c Shaw, Sarah Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from the Pali Canon. 2006 page 114
  3. ↑ Pali Canon Majjhima Nikaya 26
  4. ↑ a b c Schopen, Gregory. Figments and Fragments of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India. 2005. page 138
  5. ↑ Krishnan, Yuvraj. The Buddha Image: Its Origin and Development 2009 page 125
  6. ↑ Krishnan, Yuvraj. The Buddha Image: Its Origin and Development 2009 page 125
  7. ↑ Epstein, Ronald. Buddhist Text Translation Society's Buddhism A to Z. 2003. page 200
  8. ↑ The Thirty-Two Great Signs (Great Features) of a Buddha's Enlightening Body , Alexander Berzin on Study Buddhism
  9. ↑ a b c d Guang Xing. The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory. 2004. p. 32
  10. ↑ Guang Xing. The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory. 2004 pp. 32–33
  11. ↑ Eisel Mazard (大 影): The Buddha was Bald… but is Everywhere Depicted with a Full Head of Hair . New mandala. December 2010. Retrieved May 14, 2012.

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