Category Archives: Buddha images

In part one of this series of photos showing the different postures of the Buddha, I showed you two different ways he sat down cross-legged. Today I want to show you a more unusual way of sitting. They call it sitting in the Western fashion. But first, the Buddha image on the left. Here he is kneeling down with his left palm facing up on his left thigh. His right hand is placing the empty tray on the water. Like many of the images we see in temples, this is illustrating an episode in his life. This is where the tray manages to float upstream without sinking. The image on the right is the Buddha image for people born on Wednesday evening. This is my image though I don’t see it too often. The Buddha is receiving a honeycomb from a monkey and a water pot from an elephant. There is a good example of this image at Wat Pho in Bangkok.

Here are two more Buddha images showing him sitting in the Western fashion. These ones are not often seen. The first image shows the Buddha seated with his left hand in his lap and his right hand at chest level with the thumb and index finger joined to form a circle. This illustrates a miracle where the Buddha created a replica of himself. The second image shows the Buddha travelling in a boat. His hands are palm down on his thighs. Sometimes his right hand is open at chest level.

Here are two more different postures of the Buddha. The one on the left shows him standing. He is joining the three worlds of heaven, earth and hell. The one on the right shows him walking to Sangassa.

This last Buddha image for today is really unusual if you look closely at his feet. At first I thought it illustrated an incident where the Buddha was desperate to use the rest room. But apparently I was wrong. The Buddha is standing and making an impression of his right foot on the ground. This explains how we sometimes see Buddha’s footprints at some temples.

Whenever I visit temples in Thailand, I often take pictures of the principal Buddha image. But, quite often, Buddha images housed in the cloisters can be just as interesting. Traditionally, the Buddha images recount episodes from the Buddha’s life. Though, quite often, the same images are used again and again. However, if you look closely then you might notice some subtle differences. Take a look at these two classic images of the Buddha meditating. He is sitting cross-legged on a lotus leaf. His palms are facing upwards with the right hand on top of the left hand. Identical images? No, look more closely at how the legs are crossed. The one on the left is called the “heroic posture” and the right leg is on top of the left with both soles facing up. The right image is called the “adamantine posture” and each foot rests on top of the other thigh with the soles facing up. There is in fact a third way of sitting which I will show you later at thai-blogs.com.

Eating Rice Pudding and Accepting Rice Pudding from the Milkmaid

Resolving to Become a Monk and Considering Food in an Alms Bowl

Eating from a Bowl and Preaching his first SermonAlways look carefully to see the position of hands and feet. Are the palms facing up or down or towards the viewer? The next time you visit a temple in Thailand, take a closer look at the Buddha images as many of them have a story to tell. I will continue this series of different Buddha images at thai-blogs.com soon.

I took all of these pictures at Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom. Another good place to study different postures of the Buddha is at the Marble Temple in Bangkok. Background information can be found in an excellent book called “Gestures of the Buddha”, by K.I. Matics, published by Chulalongkorn University Press.

The characteristics of this Buddha image are a halo in the form of a lotus bud, large hair curls, a round face with a prominent chin and usually softened by a somewhat smiling expression. The body is corpulent with a much developed chest adorned with the short end of the robe over the left shoulder. The Buddha is usually seated in the cross-leg fashion. The pedestal is either decorated by two rows of lotus petals or in a plain convex shape.

The Buddha image can be recognized by a flame-like halo on top of the head, small curls, an oval face, arched eyebrows, a long and slender nose and a gentle smiling expression of serenity and compassion. The body of the Buddha is slender and the shoulders broad. The monastic robe is worn in the open mode with its end hanging to the naval and ending in a notched design. The base is plane and has a concave surface. Towards the end of the period, the face was round, the body more corpulent and the four fingers of the same length.

This Buddha has an oval or square face, a flame-like finial on top of the head and marked line of hair edge on the forehead. The end of the robe hangs from the shoulder to the naval ending in a straight line.