How many Buddha statues do you have in your home? (quote, anger)
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For insurance purposes I am annotating my Asian art collection. When I walked around my home in California I counted 28 Buddha statues, from all Buddhist countries in all styles. In my modest farmhouse in Cebu, Philippines I shipped over 6 less valuable pieces. To me my home is not complete without the physical manifestations of the philosophy that I have spent most of my life studying.
Of these Buddhas, perhaps seven or eight are museum quality. The buddhas vary by hand positions, called mudras. The Dhana mudra is the meditative and most common Buddha figure. Some of the Buddhas have a right hand that touches the earth; appropriately called the earth touching mudra. According to Buddhist hagiography, at the moment of awakening, when beset by the forces of mara, the Buddha reached out at his hand and the earth proclaimed his divinity. There are many mudras in Buddhist iconography.
But the most important quality to me is that of upekkha, equanimity. If a buddha statue does not have equanimity, it is not complete. On my desk, as I write this, is a Mucalinda Buddha dating from the Khmer Dynasty of the era of Angkor Wat, approximately 12th century. I recently purchased this piece from an auction house in Amsterdam for more money than I care to disclose. But when I pick this piece up, I know that an extraordinary man walked the earth 2,500 years. The best buddha statues have a feeling of serenity. The pieces that surround me give me pleasure and are meditation devices.
But do not buy a buddha statue as an investment. Acquire a buddha that gives you peace and serenity; upekkha.
It is not possible to own a buddha. It is merely passing through your hands. Many of my pieces date from the 16th through 19th centuries. I can only speculate as to where these pieces have been. But I enjoy them for the peace and serenity they give me, and what they stand for. When I cross over to the other shore, my collection will be given away or sold so that others might enjoy them.
The Buddha forbid the creation of images of him of any kind; whether drawings or statuary. Art depicting the Buddha didn't exist, until the Greeks arrived in the region. From that perspective, it's a Westernized Buddhism you're practicing. It doesn't conform with the Buddha's original teachings. If you want to collect Buddha images for art's sake, fine, but don't cloak your collecting in a religious imperative. In fact, collecting anything is a form of attachment.
Quote:
when I pick this piece up, I know that an extraordinary man walked the earth 2,500 years
The Buddha forbid the creation of images of him of any kind; whether drawings or statuary. Art depicting the Buddha didn't exist, until the Greeks arrived in the region. From that perspective, it's a Westernized Buddhism you're practicing. It doesn't conform with the Buddha's original teachings. If you want to collect Buddha images for art's sake, fine, but don't cloak your collecting in a religious imperative. In fact, collecting anything is a form of attachment.
You knew that, anyway.
Buddha "forbid" nothing. The groundwork which many of the Buddhist monk-clubs established was that things like "going to music concerts" and "building statues" was to be frowned upon whether verbally or with repercussions like banishment from the order because doing such things is not "the middle way" to "pure enlightenment" and "removing all karma."
Furthermore, with influence from iconoclastic Persian Zoroastrians (and the fact that Buddhists were actively trying to spread into Persia), early Buddhists found good reasons to look down on statue/feeling-based ignorance.
But yes, much art depicting the Buddha did not exist until the Greeks with their many colony cities in Afghanistan, yet it helped Buddhism spread through religionist/Xian China and thus into Shintoist Japan. Especially given the war-horses which China required from the Afghani Greeks.
I myself have a statue of Buddha holding a lotus on which Mary stands. There is a lot more Christian iconography involving Joseph, Jesus, and/or Mary around the House. The small library includes the Bhagavad Gita, Some Christian denomination's "cut" New-Testament-Mostly version of the "most important" Bible readings, the book of Mormon, etc.
Right now, I even have a Yuletide/Saturnalia-based tree with no star or angel on top and no babies or farm animals at the bottom. And I have a wreath (based on pagan harvest/season wreaths redefined into Christian symbolism) hanging at the door which I'm sure looks great with all the Saturnalia-based lights in the neighborhood.
Last edited by LuminousTruth; 12-11-2018 at 10:53 PM..
If I count outside at least 12 all around! Not counting the one wrapped as a present.
No, probably 15.
All my paintings of Buddha are sold except the 3 I keep. My biggest seller.
No Buddhas yet, but were do you get them from anyway? Amazon? Surely there are better sources. I'm sure they are easy to find in larger cities, but what if you're stuck in a boring little one-horse town?
I'd like to see more discussion here on Buddhist art, decorations, books, and music for the home.
P.S. If I drink more beer, can I look more like Buddha? LOL, nevermind.
No Buddhas yet, but were do you get them from anyway? Amazon? Surely there are better sources. I'm sure they are easy to find in larger cities, but what if you're stuck in a boring little one-horse town?.....
A good question would be, also,"Why do you have Buddha statues and why so many if you do?"
Ha~!
My Buddha paintings were my biggest sellers when I painted them years ago.
Met a stranger, friend of a friend at our bar we would all go to Thursdays...he started talking to me about this Buddha painting he just bought, where he placed it and so on, he was so happy.
I just listened, smiled...then I told him...''Well, your talking the artist''....fun moment.
Ya know he described it and told me the gallery he bought it...next time he showed me a picture.
Great guy. Just a story...
I had three from when I lived in Thailand, but had to leave them behind. Very difficult to export Buddha statues out of Thailand. I do have one Buddha statue that one of our local monks gave to me.
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