I don’t think there’s a home store you could walk into and not find statues of Buddha for sale. But they all look different and what of the Buddha?
Each Buddha statue has a different meaning and you can tell what these are from the posture and hand gestures. Each pose relates to an event in Buddha’s life. These hand gestures are called mudras. Such depictions include Protection/Overcoming Fear, Meditation/Serenity/Calming, Calling the Earth to Witness/Earth Touching, Nirvana/Reclining, Medicine, Teaching/Dharma Chakra, Walking/Sukhothai, Contemplation, Alms Bowl/Begging and, Repelling the Ocean/Preventing the Relatives from Fighting.
The Buddha is depicted sitting with the legs crossed making a triangle; the two knees and tip of the head. This is a solid foundation or, more ‘grounded’. Buddha may be in half lotus with right leg resting above left or full lotus.
This all refers to historical Buddha. You will also see Happy Buddha. He is a revered Chinese monk. He’s like Santa in that he was famous for his Buddhist sermons and bag full of gifts for children to reward them for coming to learn about the Dharma. Happy Buddha may have a chubby belly, bald head, a robe which exposes his chest, a big smile, a large bag and/or shown with smiling children.
Conversely historical Buddha is depicted with a graceful body, curly hair, robes that only reveal one shoulder and a calm expression.
The word Buddha comes from the ancient Sanskrit word ‘bodhi’ meaning ‘awakened’. A person who has achieved a state of spiritual enlightenment in accordance with Buddhist teachings is a Buddha.
Images of Buddha are a source of inspiration and aid devotees in concentrating and expressing their deep reverence and gratitude for the teachings of the great master.