The images of the
Buddha that we see today were first created several centuries
after he died. This was because Sakayumni is supposed
to have forbid images of himself to be made as he would
cease to exist in any form after he achieved Nirvana.
He and his teachings are therefore portrayed by a variety
of signs and symbols. Among the more important symbols
of the Buddha and his message are images of his feet,
a vacant throne, the lotus flower, or the
mound of earth known as the stupa, the dharma
wheel or cakra. These symbols not only
denote the person of the Buddha, but also events in his
life and aspects of his teachings. They therefore have
both a biographical and theological meaning.
However, with the passing of the centuries, Buddhist felt
the need for a more tangible and concrete representation
of the Buddha than an image of just his feet. Early images
of the Buddha were thus created by craftsmen in Gandhara,
northwest India, using Greek sculpture as a model for
the Buddha. These craftsmen made the Buddha look very
much like a Greek god in their sculptures. In Mathura
another group of craftsmen and sculptures were also making
images of the Buddha. Their model for the Buddha they
were creating were their Indian guardian gods, the yakshas.
From these two different beginnings developed the long
and distinguished series of Buddha images that we admire
very much today.
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