Physical characteristics of the Buddha

The physical characteristics of the Buddha describes the appearance and properties of the physical body of Gautama Buddha.

Until about the 5th century B.E. there is no preserved artistic representations of the Buddha. The Buddhist art was anikonisch to this time. Only after the first statues and bas-reliefs created.

A number of early suttas describe the appearance of a Buddha, they were probably the basis for the early shows. Especially important are those described in the Pali canon " 32 characteristics of a Great Man ". The 32 Great characteristics of 80 smaller features ( Pali: Anubyanjana ) supplements.

In Mahayana Buddhism, including the traditions of esoteric Buddhism, the Great 32 features and 80 features smaller than the sambhogakaya or merit body of a Buddha are understood to belong. In contrast, the physical form of a Buddha is regarded as a nirmanakaya or transformation body.

Early History

In the aniconic early phase of Buddhism, the Buddha was represented by symbols such as a footprint, an empty chair, a riderless horse, or an umbrella. First images of the Buddha emerged from about the 5th century BE in the regions of Gandhara (modern Kandahar in Afghanistan) and Mathura. Many statues and busts of the Buddha and other Bodhisattvas from this period have a mustache.

In the Pali Canon is mentioned in the following words, as the Buddha began his quest for enlightenment:

"And I went, monks, after some time, still fresh in bloom, glossy dark-haired, in the enjoyment of happy young people, on the first manhood, against the wishes of my weeping and wailing parents, with cropped hair and beard, dressed in pale robes, from home away into homelessness out. " (MN 26)

Gregory Schopen concludes that the followers of Mahayana played only a minor or no role in the production of statues and other representations of the Buddha at that time.

Mahayana sutras from this period, such as the Maitreyasiṃhanāda Sūtra, the iconic representations mention only critical, if at all. Schopenhauer explains that followers of the Mahayana generally had no interest in the worship of Buddha, but rather wanted to even attain Buddhahood. Your approach to Buddhist practice was "deeply conservative. "

The 32 Characteristics of a Great Man

The Buddha is traditionally each of the 32 characteristics of a Great Man (Skt. mahāpuruṣa Laksana ) haben.Auch obsessed with the Chakravartin kings should have been present, the 32 big features.

32 Great Features (DN 30) enumerated and explained: In the prolonged collection are in the " discourse of the features " ( Lakkhana Sutta Pali ). They are also described in the Sutra of the Majjhima Nikāya Brahmāyu (MN 91).

The 32 Great features are:

The 80 smaller features

The 80 smaller features of the Buddha are listed several times in the resulting Agamas of the Chinese Buddhist canon. After Guang Xing, the 80 smaller features relate to the 32 Great features and are thus merely a more detailed description of the appearance of the Buddha. In the Abhidharma Sarvastivadin Mahāvibhāṣa Sastra, the question of the relationship between the great and the smaller features will be provided. It is stated that the smaller features, although accompany the great features, but does not mix with them, they are like flowers in the forest, making the trees unmistakable.

The 80 smaller features were taken in both the Mahayana and Theravada. In the Pali literature, there are 80 smaller features in the Apadāna and Milindapanha. Some researchers assume that the 80 smaller features were an early development in the Buddhist tradition that was important especially for the Sarvastivada school.

The 80 smaller features are:

Alternative representations

Some authors have noted that they could be seen from at least two suttas in the Pali canon, the Buddha was the monks have been like shaven.