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Buddha Shakyamuni

Introduction

Artefact Description

This is a Burmese sculpture of the Buddha Shakyamuni, seated on a highly-elaborated multi-tier throne. His hands are in Bhumisparsha (Calling-earth-to-bear witness) mudra: His right hand over the knee, fingers together and reaching to touch the ground, while the left hand remains quietly in His lap, palms up. This mudra marks the significance of Buddha calling the earth to be His witness, when He had reached Enlightenment.

 

His legs are in Vajrasana (Diamond throne) posture, where the legs are tucked in tightly together, crossed at the ankles with right atop left, with the bottoms of both feet facing upward and resting on opposite thighs.

 

The features of a Burmese Buddhist style are evident on the Buddha Shakyamuni sculpture - triangular face with a broad forehead, eyebrows arched high over narrowly opened eyes, a pointed nose with triangular nostrils, pursed thin lips, large and elongated ears, and a short neck.

 

This Burmese Buddha Shakyamuni sculpture illustrates some of the prevalent features from the Mahapurusalaksanas (thirty-two features of a Great Man) - long fingers and Ushnisha (protruding crown shaped like a stupa on His head). The sculpture also illustrates elongated ears, which belongs to Anubyanjana (eighty secondary features of a Great Man).

Historical Background

The Historical Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, lived over 2,500 years ago, and is known as "Buddha Shakyamuni", which the former means "the Enlightened one" and the latter stands for "Sage of the Shakya clan". According to chronology, some historians dated Buddha Shakyamuni's lifetime as 563 to 483 B.C., while other scholars postulate that he may have lived even a century later.

 

Before His Enlightenment, the historical Buddha was referred by his birthname "Siddhartha Gautama", whereby "Siddhartha" denotes "he who has attained his goals" and "Gautama" refers to the sacerdotal name of the Shakya family.

 

The legends that revolved around him hold that both his conception and birth were miraculous. He lived a lavish life from his birth till his young adulthood. Prince Siddhartha's life gained impetus at a turning point through a spiritual awakening known as the inevitable "Four Sights", which made him question the truth of suffering (endless cycle of birth, sickness, death, and rebirth) and he was determined to seek the means to end suffering.

 

At the age of twenty-nine, he left his palace and his family, abandoned his royal privileges and material possessions, in pursuit of being an ascetic. Through his quest as an ascetic, he took guidance from other ascetics and he eventually encountered near death due to the ascetic regimen (starvation). Once he had eaten, he had a realization that physical austerities were not the means to achieve spiritual liberation.

 

At a place now known as Bodh Gaya ("Place of Enlightenment"), he sat and meditated all night beneath a Bodhi tree. After subduing the forces of the demon Mara, Siddhartha attained Enlightenment and emerged as Buddha, at the age of thirty-five.

 

The Buddha continued meditating after His Enlightenment, beneath the tree and then at six other places in the vicinity for 7 weeks. Seven weeks after His Enlightenment, He left his seat under the tree and decided to teach others what He had learned, encouraging people to follow a path He called "The Middle Way", which is one of balance rather than extremism. He gave His first sermon in a deer park in Sarnath, on the outskirts of the city of Benares.

 

He soon had many disciples and spent His next forty-five years walking around north-eastern India spreading His Teachings. Buddha presented Himself only as a teacher and not as a god or idol of worship. Traditional accounts relate that He died at the age of eighty in Kushinagara, after ingesting tainted food. His body was cremated, and His remains were distributed among the groups of His disciples. These holy relics were enshrined in large hemispherical burial mounds known as Stupas, many of which became important pilgrimage sites we know today.

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