In the early days of Buddhism, Buddha was represented by a symbol: a footprint or a wheel or a pot or a tree. Later, less than 2,000 years ago, we see the earliest images of the Buddha in the Gandhara region (modern Pakistan and Afghanistan) as a Greek god. Simultaneously, Buddha images started appearing in the Gangetic plains around Mathura, where a red stone was used. Unlike the Gandharan Buddha, where the shoulders were covered with cloth, in Mathura, the upper garment was draped only over the left shoulder, suggesting the influence of the Brahmin thread that hung over the left shoulder. In Mathura, Buddha was made to sit on a lotus, with a serpent behind him.
Since then, Buddha images have been crafted around the world, from Central Asia to China, to South East Asia. While, to the untrained eye, all Buddha images look similar, with languid eyes and long ears, a sensitive eye will notice huge differences—different postures, different gestures. In Thailand, different Buddhas are venerated on different days of the week, with two on Wednesdays, one before noon, one afternoon. There are images of Buddha seated, meditating or giving a discourse. There are images of him standing, as if facing his students, or his enemies. Then there is the reclining Buddha, resting his head on his right arm, as he prepares to die. The walking Buddha is popular in Thailand, reminding us of him pacing after his awakening as he wondered what to do next.
The obese Laughing ‘Buddha’ is actually a Chinese Buddhist monk whose wisdom expressed itself through laughter.
Devdutt Pattanaik is an Indian physician turned leadership consultant, mythologist, author and communicator whose works focus largely on the areas of myth, religion, mythology, and management.
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